Pangasinan: More than 73,000 youths aged 15 to 17 have registered as new voters in Pangasinan from August 1 to 10, as reported by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) provincial office. This significant turnout surpasses the initial target of 75,000 new registrants for the 10-day period, reaching a total of 110,674 individuals who signed up.

According to Philippines News Agency, Provincial election supervisor, lawyer Marino Salas, highlighted the importance of youth participation in past elections, noting their decisive influence due to high awareness and interest in the electoral process. “The youth voters have been the deciding factor in the last election, their awareness is high, hence their interest in joining in voting is also high, as reflected in the registration,” Salas stated in an interview.

To facilitate the registration process, Comelec organized offsite registrations in various schools and communities. Notably, Dagupan and San Carlos cities achieved the highest turnout among these efforts. The applications from these new registrants are scheduled for validation and approval by the Election Registration Board in the upcoming month.

This voter registration initiative is part of the preparations for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections slated for December 1. The filing of candidacy and campaign period is expected to commence in October, unless legislative changes lead to a postponement of the elections.