While the current 63 votes for Sorsogon Rep. Francis Chiz Escudero are hardly an indication that he will be the next Mr. Palengke (No. 1 in the senatorial elections like Sen. Mar Roxas II in 2002), the voting trend for the Top 6 senatoriables on just-launched Pinoy Votester 2007 on Yehey.com is nothing to sneeze at.

With just the click of a mouse, users get to ‘Add to My Vote List’ their favorite senatorial candidates — their ‘warm-up’ towards the election run-up — and have their voices heard in the vast cyberspace.

This interactive online portal suits young voters like 18-year-old Em de Leon, who eats and breathes the Net and does not fancy flipping pages of newspapers for the latest in politics. Just by actively accumulating friends through online social networking and blogging her biases to them twice daily, Em holds and unleashes potent venom for viral marketing without her knowing it.

This May, she is about to cast her vote for the first time — a newbie Pinoy voter. She recognizes the power of her one vote could potentially shape the future of the nation — for better or worse — so she instinctively turns to the Net to do her homework.

Through Pinoy Votester 2007 (www.votester.com.ph), she gets to know the senatorial candidates, the party-lists, the election timeline, latest election-related news, what other young users are saying in election blogs, who’s leading in the online polls, and other interactive features.

Among the busiest interactive features of Votester are the Top 6 senatoriables and Top 6 party-lists. Users can check out the candidates’ and party-lists’ credentials and affiliations, vote for them virtually by clicking on the ‘Add to My Vote List’, and even leave testimonials for their chosen candidates.

"We want to provide a venue for young people to get involved in the coming elections, not just by casting their votes in May, but by getting their voices heard and feeling their pulse," says Yehey.com president and CEO Donald Lim. Yehey! is among the top three most-viewed websites in the country, with over 30 million page views a month and nearly 300,000 registered users.

More than revolving around the May 2007 personalities, Votester offers its young users the venue to express themselves. Want to find out how the Next Generation is responding to the nagging question: "What do you think of the abundance of celebrities vying for positions in government?" And why is senatoriable and Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson getting a bad rap? Votester stirs up interest in hot election-related issues through features like the online polls and election blogs, which send out the message to candidates that the young are watching.

In addition, Yehey! is also inviting users and media to participate in a series of virtual press conferences on election-related topics every Thursday at 10 a.m.

Yehey! partnered with the Institute for Solidarity in Asia, a non-partisan coalition advocating active citizens’ participation in governance; and editorial services provider Writers Edge, Inc. for a project called Voters Ed @ Brewing Point, a venue to educate voters online on the May 2007 elections and for continuing education in responsible citizenship.

Topics range from Election 101 (What every voter must know), In Search of a Philippine President for 2030, How the Next Gen Votes, to Star Struck (Dividing the thinning line between acting and the serious work of nation-building).