Excited, Anxious First-Time Voters

By Sweet Mary J. Cawicaan
Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project

BARAS, Rizal — Seventeen-year-old cousins Achilles Jerome Mañalac and Cezar Valencia are excited. Before the year ends, both of them will turn 18 and just like all of their age, they are looking forward to the benefits of adulthood – including the right to vote.

Achilles Jerome and Valencia are among the estimated 1.9 million first-time voters turning 18 in time for the May 2010 national and local elections, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Valencia, who celebrates his birthday on November, registered last week in the local Comelec office alongside with Achilles Jerome’s older brother, Arvin Jasper. Achilles Jerome says he will register in the next few days.

Mixed emotions

“I am very excited about the prospect of voting,” says 19-year-old Arvin Jasper. “So much is at stake next May – because we will choose leaders from the president down to the kagawad (village councilors).”

Another first-time voter Mariano Casaclang III, 20, is just as excited.

“I know that I can make a difference by exercising my right to vote,” Casaclang says.

But alongside demonstrable excitement is a similar wariness.

“I don’t know what the candidates can really do for the country,” adds Achilles Jerome.

Prized right

For many Filipinos, the right to suffrage is highly-prized. In theory at least and baring any irregularities, everybody becomes equal on Election Day regardless of education, status, age, sex, religious, political and other beliefs.

The people in Baras seem particularly keen on elections. Baras is one of the smaller towns in the province of Rizal. Occupying 8,492.64 hectares and is located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains and its funnel-like shape dips into Laguna de Bay.

“The town registered a 74 percent voter turnout in the last May 2007 elections,” according to Joseleo Tibay, Baras’ assistant election officer.

Officials are also expecting a high voter turnout next year.

As of April 20 this year, Comelec has registered a total of 16,511 voters from the 10 local barangays (Concepcion, Evangelista, Mabini, Pinugay, Rizal, San Jose, San Juan, San Miguel, San Salvador and Santiago). This figure is 52.4 percent of the town’s population of 31,524 based on the National Statistics Office’s 2007 Census.

Comelec records show 555 new registrations since January 19 this year.

Baras’ former election officer, Yolanda Rio, said Comelec is expecting another thousand or so new registrations before October 31, the last day first-time voters can ensure they get on the electoral roll.

Youth power

The local Comelec does not have records of youth voters. Nor does the Municipal Planning and Development Council have updated data on age demographics – but based on the 1995 census, the town’s population is relatively young— 42.2 percent of the total population or 8,461 people were between 15 to 39 years old.

And it is much more than likely this has increased – probably substantially since then.

Nationally speaking, the First Time Voters Network said roughly 60 percent of the 2010 electorate will come from the age bracket of 18 to 40 years old.

The national Comelec earlier this month indicated 2010 would see around nine million new voters joint the electorate —a very sizeable audience which many politicians acknowledge can hardly be ignored.