The Filipino youth, particularly first-time voters, constitute an important voting demographic that could influence election results across all levels of government.
In the 2016 elections, Vice President Robredo won over former Senator Marcos with a margin of less than 300,000 votes. In the upcoming elections, both politicians will once again compete against each other, having filed their respective candidacies for President. In other levels of government, particularly LGUs with fewer registered voters, results can be decided by one vote.
Despite the challenges of voter registration brought about by the COVID- 19 pandemic, the Filipino youth have expressed their interest in the upcoming elections through voter registration. As of 14 October 2021, COMELEC reports that the total number of newly registered voters aged 18 to 21 years old have
breached 4 million.
Given the importance of first-time voters, different sectors of society have and will make various efforts in helping the youth process information and decide on the country’s next set of elected officials.
With access to rich data on college students, and partnerships with institutions such as the Ateneo School of Government, the FPPC is in a unique position to contribute to efforts on voter education.
By looking at student responses in FEU’s College Experience Survey and ASOG’s Pinoy Voters’ Vibe, it is possible to gain some insight on topics that voter education efforts may cover and platforms where voter education efforts could be implemented.
A forum was organized to share the studies’ results and provide school officials, student organizations, and advocacy groups with insights on youth voters, which could serve as inputs to voter education efforts that may be organized in the lead up to the 2022 National Elections in May 2022.
