How can Philippine elections be more inclusive to the visually impaired?

ALBAY, Philippines – “Mga three minutes lang ako sa luwas, may nag-assist nang teacher/watcher. Maayos talaga na pagpasok mo ng [school] gate, meron nang katulong,” said Norberto Vesmonte, chairman of Visually Impaired Voice in Albay (VIVA) cooperative and a visually impaired voter from Bitano, Legazpi City.

(I only waited for around three minutes outside, then a teacher or watcher already assisted me. It was really nice that just after entering the [school] gate, someone would already assist you.)

Indeed, compared to previous years, persons with disabilities (PWDs) say they had a much better voting experience in the 2025 elections than in previous polls.

Early voting hours spared them from long queues that regular voters have to go through. Priority polling stations, usually located on the ground floor of the voting centers, were provided for easy access, especially for those who find it hard to climb stairs. Commission on Elections (Comelec)-assigned staff also assisted them in matters like finding their precincts.  

But much remains to be done before PWDs can fully realize their voting rights under the Constitution.

Actual inclusivity

Despite all the efforts and innovations that the Comelec has done, it cannot be said that the elections are fully inclusive yet. 

Maureen Mata, a disability-advocate from the Move as One Coalition, observed that the recent election was somewhat better than the previous ones. This is reflected in the higher voter turnout of PWDs in the May 12 national and local elections.

However, certain lapses in the preparations for the actual voting day were still evident, such as on information dissemination.

According to Mata, there were confusions with the early voting hours and priority polling places (PPP) and accessible polling places (APP) in the areas that they monitored. 

Some of the senior citizens and PWDs thought that they were only allowed to vote from 5 am to 7 am. But they were actually allowed and given priority to vote until 7 pm, it’s just that they were given an exclusive duration in the morning so they won’t have to queue with regular voters. Furthermore, some of the vulnerable voters also got confused with the APPs and PPPs.

Mata suggested that Comelec include representatives from actual vulnerable organizations in the post-election assessment so that they will know the PWDs’ first-hand experiences.

They also observed that the Comelec lacks manpower who can assist vulnerable voters, and the shortage in reasonable accommodation for people with different types of disabilities.

“Accessibility is really our number one priority. Once na nakalatag ito (this is in place), we will truly feel that we are safe and that we belong,” she said.

Abner Manlapaz, co-founder of Life Haven Center for Independent Living, also called on the government to co-develop with organizations of PWDs plans to progressively implement a fully accessible voting system. “Persons with disabilities have the same right as everyone else,” he said.

Overlooked

Among PWDs, visually impaired citizens are often the most overlooked among the vulnerable sectors, said Vesmonte. “Sa lahat ng mga PWDs na may kakayahang magtrabaho, kami yung least na pinagtutuunan ng pansin,” he said in an interview with Rappler. (Among all PWDs that are capable of working, we are given the least attention.)

According to supplemental reports from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as of July 2023, there were 592,000 blind Filipinos. Majority of them are poor and uneducated. Meanwhile, 2,179,733 Filipinos have low vision and other related visual impairment.

During the 2025 national and local elections, a total of 30,005 persons PWDs from the six provinces in Bicol cast their votes. Based on the data by Comelec Bicol, among them were 5,962 voters from Albay. However, the exact number of visually impaired voters residing in Bicol is not readily available.

The Constitution says Congress is supposed to design a procedure for the disabled and the illiterates to vote without the assistance of other persons. The Comelec, however, does not provide for assistive devices for persons with visual impairments.  

In 2012, Congress enacted Republic Act 10366 or the Accessible Polling Places (APPs) Act, which aims to eliminate physical barriers to vulnerable sectors, such as senior citizens and PWDs. 

Among other things, the law provides for separate voting precincts called the APPs for PWDs and senior citizens. These polling places are typically located on the ground floor of the voting centers for easy access, especially for those who find it hard to climb stairs. 

Maria Juana Valeza, Comelec Bicol regional director, said this initiative was part of their advocacy in giving not just the regular voters, but also the members of the vulnerable sector the ideal voting experience. “This is one of our facilities for them. To make it convenient for these members of the vulnerable sector,” she said.

Voting assistants

The law also says these precincts are supposed to be provided with necessary services, including assistive devices. However, Valeza said there are no directives from their main office about this yet. 

Jaynie Marilag, a visually impaired voter from Guinobatan, Albay, voted with the assistance of her niece. Meanwhile, Vesmonte did not have any relatives with him so he was assisted by a staff from Comelec.

Noel Marquez, another visually impaired voter from Bitano, Albay, said that even if the government provides them with assistive devices such as braille and audio devices to help them vote, these will be useless since most of them are not even capable of reading and writing. 

“Bihira man sa mga visually impaired arog mi ang nakatapos mag-iskwela, kaya dawa magka-igwa na arog kaan na brayle ngaya, wara man giraray ta dae man kami tatao,” he said.

(It’s rare for visually impaired people like us to have finished school, so even if there will be something like braille, it still doesn’t matter because we don’t know how to use it.)

Marquez was assisted by his 27-year-old daughter on election day. His daughter shaded his ballot for him but he himself carefully chose his preferred candidates before election day.

He said that government’s support for people like him is extremely lacking. “Kulang na kulang man ang suporta sa mga PWD didi, lalong na sa trabaho at edukasyon,” Marquez said. (The support for PWDs in our country is very lacking, especially when it comes to job opportunities and education.)

Since few employers hire PWDs, most of them just opt to live as beggars, Marquez said.

He noted that even basic tools that will help them walk are hard to access. “Ultimo ngani white cane na magagamit, pahirapan pa makahagad sa DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development,” Marquez said. (Even white canes that we can use are very difficult to request from DSWD.)

Marquez said that it is useless to wait for assistance from government agencies such as the DSWD because it takes such a long time to arrive. He added it’s better to buy the cane than to wait for something that might not come at all.

Secrecy of ballots

Not all PWDs can cast their votes without human assistance because ballots are not in an accessible format.

Abner Manlapaz, co-founder of Life Haven Center for Independent living, emphasized that not all PWDs can cast their votes in secret.

“People with disabilities [worry] if their  ballots were really handled with care and respect, and whether their votes were counted,” he said in an interview with Rappler.

Marquez said he voted for candidates that he believes are capable of making the country a better place, especially for citizens like him. But if the voters are not able to see their votes for themselves, how can they confirm that their right was really used to vote for the people they want to support?

Several watchdog groups took on this role to secure the fairness and accuracy of the recently concluded election.

Marcelina Velasco, a volunteer from the Pastoral Parish Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said that they make sure that only the volunteer and the voter who needs assistance are aware of their choices while voting.

“Ang tigagibo namon dyan, tigbabasa namon ang mga pangaran na nasa balota, saka namon sinda tiga-unga kung sisay ang gusto nindang iboto. Ang nakakaaram lang ay ang volunteer tsaka ang botante,” Velasco said in an interview with Rappler.

(What we do there is read out the names on the ballot, and then we mark the choice of the person we’re assisting, based on who they want to vote for. Only the volunteer and the voter know the choice.)

She noted that they only do this if the voter is alone or if the voter’s relative also asks for their assistance.

“Kung ano ang sinabi ng botante, sinusunod namin ‘yon. Pagkatapos ninda bumoto, binabasa giraray namon ang nasa resibo para masiguro ninda na tama, saka namon tighuhulog sa box,” she added.

(Whatever the voter says, we follow it. After they vote, we read the receipt to them again so they can make sure it’s correct, and then we drop it into the box.)

They do this to assure the voters that they voted for the names that they chose themselves.

Despite the difficulties, voters from the vulnerable sector are determined to vote because they experience the lack of support and attention to them first-hand. 

In 2028 elections, they look forward to a better voting experience. – Rappler.com

Hershey Juan is a third year journalism student at Bicol University. An Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2025, she is also a public relations staff member of The Bicol Universitarian.