The College of Development Communication (CDC) is covering the 2022 national and local elections through its program called Bantay Halalan Laguna. The election coverage will be streamed live from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM on Monday, May 9 via its Facebook and YouTube channels. News updates and other relevant information will also be shared on CDC-affiliated social media platforms (Los Baños Times, Dito sa Laguna, DZLB, Edcomics, etc). 

The coverage will include discussions about the situations in Laguna during the election day. Various groups and sectors including the youth, economic, tourism, media, religious, and online movements are expected to talk about their expectations and concerns about the results of the elections.

To prepare for their roles in the election coverage, volunteer reporters were trained on political fact-checking, reporting for the web, and reporting for broadcast. CDC, as a member of Tsek.PH, also held online fact-checking training workshops for various institutions including the Cavite State University Journalism Guild, Caraga State University’s Department of Sociology, and Tatsulok: Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino.

Recently, a Bantay Halalan Laguna 2022 TikTok challenge was also launched via the UPLB Official Tiktok account. CDC invites the public to submit their duet performance of the theme song, Para Sa Bayan.

As highlighted by CDC Dean Maria Stella C. Tirol during UPLB’s flag ceremony on April 18, Bantay Halalan Laguna 2022 is the College’s contribution to UPLB’s future-proofing efforts by informing and educating its constituents about candidates and their platforms, political fact-checking, the election process, and voting behavior.

Bantay Halalan Laguna is a major activity under the UPLB sa Halalan 2022 public service initiative, which has also organized several webinars and activities for UPLB constituents and its surrounding communities.

It is a collaborative effort among CDC, its student volunteers, UP Community Broadcasters’ Society, Inc., and schools around Laguna, namely University of Perpetual Help System Laguna, Laguna University, Laguna State Polytechnic University Sta. Cruz Main Campus, and San Pablo Colleges. (Miguel Victor T. Durian and Aletheia C. Araneta)