MANILA, Philippines – Canadian-born content creator Kyle Jennermann, more commonly known as Kulas of BecomingFilipino, cast his vote in the Philippine elections for the first time on Monday, May 12.
Jennerman became a naturalized Filipino in September 2023 after taking his Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.
In the 2025 polls, he voted in Taguig, and said that he was “really impressed” by the whole experience, commending the staff who assisted him and pointing out the “friendly” atmosphere among the other voters at the precinct.
“People were chilled and friendly with one and other… even though I am certain everyone has different voting preferences. I saw lots of smiles at the precinct and on the road outside. In a tense political climate, this was something very refreshing,” he wrote.
The naturalized Filipino, whose entire voting process took around 45 minutes, recounted the positive parts of his experience as a first-time voter in the Philippines. He commended the presence of big signs at the entrance that made it easy to let people know where to go, as well as the staff’s speed in leading voters to the proper lines.
Jennerman said that it also made him happy that his name and photo were on the list of registered voters in his cluster and precinct.
“Literally no one could vote as me. You not only have to find your image and name, but give your fingerprint. The fact you have to register in advance with Comelec, and then they have this… very professional and safe,” he shared, adding that it was “wonderful” that people could double check their votes on the receipts given them after feeding their ballots to the machine.
Meanwhile, Jennerman also shared the observations he found “a little different or interesting” about the whole voting process in relation to his experience as a Canadian voter.
He cited the usual classroom setting where the Philippine polls are usually held, stating that he wasn’t used to the environment being so open. This, he said, made it slightly more difficult for him to be more “secretive” with his ballot.
“There isn’t a ‘hidden cubicle’ structure. It would make it a bit easier for someone to possibly see who you are voting for. And with a long sheet for voting, I found it would be quite difficult to actually hide all my selections… because I didn’t want to fold or crinkle the voters sheet,” he shared.
Jennerman then expressed confusion and dismay over individuals who were stationed outside the precinct or on the road offering him sample ballots.
“I believe this was to possibly motivate me or influence me to vote for specific line ups. Or I guess remind people who didn’t write down their list?” he pondered.
He also reminded other Filipinos to exercise their right to vote.
The midterm elections will see 68.43 million Filipinos across the country cast their votes. There are 18,320 elective positions looking to be filled by candidates.
Filipinos may vote for 12 senators, one party-list group, one congressman or congresswoman, one mayor, one vice mayor, one provincial governor, one provincial vice governor, and members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and Sangguniang Panlungsod or Bayan.
Kulas began posting travel vlogs in the Philippines in 2014, and has amassed 1.14 million YouTube subscribers. He tied the knot with his Filipino wife, Catherine Diquit, in 2024. – Rappler.com