The National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (NASSA), the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is intensifying its campaign for an orderly, honest and peaceful election through its Political Education for Democratic Governance Program.

"Maging Pihikan Ngayong Halalan," a. component of the said program, is an information campaign focusing on the May 2004 election aiming to educate voters and encourage a shift to issue-based elections.

Information related to "Malting Pihikan Ngayong Halalan" can be viewed at and downloaded from NASSA's website www.nassa.org.ph.

Documents such as in-house election-related articles, CBCP pastoral statement on 2004 elections, and election-related statistics can also be found at the website.

Politxt is also utilized to popularize the campaign by tapping one of the speediest and most popular means off communication - text messaging or Short Messaging System (SMS) - with the aim of contributing to the efforts of cultivating platform - and programs-based politics in the country.

Politxt provides the user information on profiles of presidential, vice presidential and senatorial candidates and their position regarding 27 national and 12 sectoral issues.

Corruption, death penalty, environment, globalization, housing, poverty reduction, peace and order, and trade liberalization are some o 'the issues included.

The data comes from candidates' official response to NASSA's query in January 2004.

Via - Politxt, mobile phone users can request and receive information on the candidates' political platforms.

It is aimed at raising voters' awareness by making information accessible anytime, anywhere, thanks to the ubiquity of mobile phones.

Info4Ppl, NASSA's partner in the campaign, is a content developer of information-based value-added services for mobile communications and the Internet.

The Diocesan Social Action Centers (DSACs) nationwide have also, as part of the program, organized in their localities voters' education activities covering the campaign period as parallel efforts to NASSA's activities at the national level.

NASSA and the DSAC`s also conduct pre- and post-election activities in line with its ongoing Political Education for Democratic Governance Program started in 2001.#