Here’s some encouraging data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec): out of the over 5.35 million “new registrants” who would vote for the 2025 elections, the Calabarzon region topped the list with over 901,562 new applicants.
With the deadline for voter registration just over a month away (on September 30, to be exact), authorities are expecting more new voters who are eager to exercise their right to suffrage in next year’s polls.
And a combination of factors – the Filipinos’ innate “last-minute” mentality, the emergence of a new generation of voters, especially from the so-called “pandemic generation,” and the increasing interest of the youth to become active in public participation in government – meant that these numbers would swell even more in the final days before the deadline.
But putting aside the usual issues of long lines during the last few days of voter registration, it is essential once again to note the eagerness of the new generation to choose which leaders they want to see in their towns, cities and provinces for the next three years.
It would not be far-fetched to say that in the 2025 polls, it will be the youth who will be the deciding factor. It will be the youth who are expected to drive up the turnout of voters who will participate, even if this is “only” a midterm election and not a major presidential one.
This hope, however, is tempered by the harsh realities of Filipino politics. Patronage and vengeance politics is still very much alive, especially in many parts of Laguna province. And the recent reports about the dismal state of education in the Philippines require us to think about how our new generation will choose their leaders.
It is now up to the older generation of voters and leaders not just to encourage the youth to vote, but to show them what kind of leaders should they choose.
Enough with the banal advice during elections to “vote wisely.” Let us teach them – and show them – what exactly that slogan means.
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