The National Youth Commission urged the Commission on Elections to prioritize the registration of voters from the ranks of the out of school youth and young persons with disabilities.

In a resolution sponsored by Asec Jose Rafael Cruz, it stated that the OSYs and the young PWDs are often faced with challenges and vulnerabilities that deprive them of meaningful political participation.

“The Filipino youth accounts for about 40% of the total voting population and according to the AIM Policy Center, it is estimated that there will be over 10 million potential new youth voters between 2012-2040”, said Asec Cruz.

It cannot be denied that the youth vote is a significant factor in shaping the political landscape and the youth is pressing for much needed reforms.

In a recent survey published by the Social Weather Station (SWS) last March 2015, it was found out that 4.5 million Filipinos are not yet registered to vote. The Comelec has set the deadline for voters’ registration on October 31, 2015. Hence, there is an urgency to ensure that the remaining unregistered yet qualified Filipino voters must be registered in time for the 2016 elections.

“Given these facts and figures,  there is a need to intensify the call to strengthen information dissemination, especially to the out of school youth and those differently abled persons to feel that they are part of the electoral system and that their votes must be counted,” added Cruz.

The need to ensure that the OSYs and young PWDs are equally given the opportunity to exercise their inherent right to vote is one of our main concerns.