Comelec chair urges youth to register for BSKE

Commission on Elections Chair George Erwin Garcia is interviewed by campus journalists at San Beda College Alabang during his inspection of the sites of the Comelec’s Special Register Anywhere Program on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. — Photo from San Beda College Alabang/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Erwin Garcia on Tuesday encouraged the youth to register and vote for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) as he underscored the strength of the youth vote during the midterm polls last May.

“You showed in the last elections that you really are the true voice of the country. You showed just this last election that you are not just watching on the sidelines…the youth showed that ‘we have the voice, we have control of the future,’” Garcia told students at San Beda College-Alabang campus.

Garcia noted that the elections last May had the highest voter turnout in the history of the country’s midterm polls, recorded at 82.2 percent. Half of these voters, he said, were from the youth.

“That is the reason why we are here, for example, in San Beda Alabang, because the focus of the Comelec needs to be on the youth,” said Garcia.

The Comelec chief had visited the school, as well as other colleges, as part of his inspection of the sites for the Special Register Anywhere Program (SRAP) of his agency. The program, which is being conducted until Aug. 7, allows those unable to return to their localities to register as voters.

“As a conclusion, our request to the San Beda Alabang community, let’s not waste our votes,” Garcia said.

“This is the challenge to everyone, we do not have the right to complain against the government, when we do not participate in electing our leaders. We need to own the leadership of the country by choosing them, by electing them,” he added.

“This is our duty and, at the same time, our right,” said Garcia.

READ: What led to the high voter turnout on May 12?

Garcia made the statement as he pointed out the huge turnout for the ongoing 10-day voter registration for the BSKE, which has surpassed the Comelec’s initial target of 1 million applications on Wednesday.

When asked what might have caused the huge turnout, Garcia noted in a chance interview on Wednesday that “we see in all the registration sites that we visit, the youth are with their parents.”

“Either they were obligated, scolded, or the parents are really just accompanying their kids. Even their grandparents were with them… so, it means, this might be the wave of what we call ‘youth voters,’” he told reporters.

As of Aug. 5, Comelec data shows that over 1 million individuals have registered for the BSKE, with Region 4-A or Calabarzon having the highest number of applicants at 138,843, followed by Region 3 or Central Luzon with 113,904 and National Capital Region with 79,517.

Although these registrations are still subject to approval, Garcia had said that this was the largest number of registrations recorded in the shortest amount of time.

“Our target now is 1.5 million. If we reach that, that is really extraordinary and historic,” Garcia said. “Before, our registration took almost a year, and we only reached around 2 million, but now we might reach 1.5 million in just a matter of 10 days.”

The Comelec chief also noted that the number of registrations remained high despite reports of the BSKE possibly being postponed to November next year given the anticipated signing of a bill extending the terms of Barangay and SK officials by four years. /das