YOUTH VOTE | Young Filipinos can ‘change the face of politics’ through voting, says analyst

June 14, 2021 , 03:40 PM

(June 14, 2021) – Young Filipinos could transform politics in the country if they register and exercise their right to vote in the 2022 elections, a political analyst said on Monday.

Prof. Clarita Carlos of the University of the Philippines’ Department of Political Science pointed out that the orientation of the youth sector could help transform the political system that pervades society, saying young people are discerning enough to initiate change.

“‘Yang mga bata na ‘yan, hindi tanga,” said Carlos on One News’ Agenda. “Kung sila nga lang ay mag-register at magboto sa May 9, they can change the face of the politics if they want to. And I’m banking on them. I’m banking on the increasing morality and uprightness of our people.”

About 40 million Filipinos belong to ages 18 to 35 years old, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, corresponding to about 37% of the eligible electorate in the 2022 elections.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, citing numbers from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), recently said about seven to 10 million youth in 2019 did not register to vote.

Independent groups have sprouted to encourage young Filipinos to register, including the We The Youth Vote, which aims to mount voter education campaigns.

In a recent forum, the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines also started a campaign on helping youth voters realize the necessity of actively participating in the political sphere, adding the COVID-19 pandemic should serve as a “wake-up call” to be wise in picking the country’s next leaders.

“This pandemic is a real-life test for the kind of leaders that we want, leaders who will be quick to respond, proactive leaders who would bring this nation to a higher level of resilience,” said JCI Philippines president national Jude Acidre.

Carlos said she was also “comforted” seeing young potential candidates in next year’s polls, calling them “open-minded,” mentioning the likes of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, and Sen. Manny Pacquiao. None of them, however, have officially confirmed their plan to run for president.

“I’m just comforted by the fact na ang mga pangalan na lumalabas, mga bata. I like that because young people, all things being equal, are open-minded. They’re not bigots in the first instant, less likely to be so,” Carlos said, adding some of them have asked her help to be briefed on defense policies, although she didn’t elaborate.

Comelec officials have been convincing more people to vote in the 2022 elections as they iron out additional preparations.

Some 3.6 million new voters have already registered, according to Comelec, adding to the total of 58 million voters.

Voter registration will end on September 30.

(Beatrice Puente/PM)

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