MANILA – The Commission on Elections (COMELEC)and the National Youth Commission (NYC) conducted a motorcade on March 1, 2017, around the university belt area as part of the continuing effort to encourage young people to register for the October 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
“COMELEC recognizes the youth’s vital role in nation-building and social change, especially in light of the Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, which will be held again this October after seven years. We are working with NYC and universities to reach out to more young people. Dahil sayang naman kung hindi makalahok ang kabataan sa halalan na nilaan para sa kanila. It is through the SK that our youth are able to participate directly in our government,” shared COMELEC Chairman Andres Bautista.
The COMELEC and NYC pushed thru with their earlier planned motorcade, and traversed the university belt area that ended at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) where a whole day satellite registration activity was conducted for residents of Manila. The activity was especially meant for high school students of nearby schools.
“We will also have conversations with students to discuss primarily the upcoming October 23, 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (2017 BSKE). This is, of course, our way of increasing the young people’s awareness on the importance of SKs in advancing youth issues, especially now that the age bracket who could vote in SK elections has been increased to 15 to 30 years old instead of just 15 to 21 years old. So definitely, there is a need for an information drive to ensure that all eligible SK voters are aware of new provisions in the SK law,” added Bautista.
Per COMELEC data, there were 2,231,052 registered SK voters aged 15 to 17 years old in 2010.This figure is expected to increase by more than 1000% as the age bracket for eligible voters in SK Elections was expanded. As of August 2016, there are already 20,742,195 youth voters aged 15-30 years old.
“By the sheer number of the young people alone, they can really ideally influence election results. In 2010, for example, former President Noynoy Aquino received 15.2 million votes or 42% of the 38.1 million total votes cast for President at that time, while President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was elected by 15.9 million Filipinos in 2016 or 36.53% of the 43.7 million people who voted. So you see, as electoral victories are based on numbers, the youth can really dictate the future of this country if they wanted to,” ended Bautista.
The voter education campaign will be rolled out nationwide with the support from youth groups, universities, and other non-government organizations that share the same vision of encouraging the young people’s informed participation in elections, especially in the next few months in the run-up to the 2017 BSKE. (COMELEC)
