CALAMBA CITY (PIA)—First-time voters have expressed enthusiasm for the government’s voter education initiatives ahead of the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE).
In an interview with the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Region IV-A, Assistant Regional Election Director Atty. Margaret Joyce Reyes-Cortez encouraged young voters, particularly those who have just turned 18, to participate in the voter education roadshows to be launched in the region.
“We highly encourage everyone, especially those 18 years old and above who would be first-time voters, to know the schedule of the roadshow in their respective cities and municipalities,”
Reyes-Cortez explained that the Voter Education and Registration Fair provides first-time voters an opportunity to try the COMELEC’s new Automated Counting Machines (ACM), which will be used for the first time in the upcoming elections.
“During the roadshow, they get to experience voting itself. Of course, our electoral board who are designated in the voting centers will help our voters in the procedure and finding their district,”
She added: “We highly encourage everyone to participate in the roadshow so we can be educated and familiarized with the machine early on.”
COMELEC Region IV-A launched its voter education campaign with a roadshow at Cavite State University, where students had the opportunity to practice shading ballots.
Jim Anthony Losabio, a student at the University of Batangas, believes that the COMELEC’s initiatives will help first-time voters like himself make informed decisions in the upcoming elections.
“Right now, we are surrounded by people dictating to us who to vote for, based on their experience without seeing for ourselves the credibility and capabilities of that candidate,”
Losabio added: “It’s really important that we make the effort to know our candidates so we can make our own choices. I hope we can use this opportunity to start the change we have been calling for.”
The Calabarzon region anticipates a higher voter turnout in the upcoming elections, with 1,990,992 new registered voters. It remains the country’s most vote-rich region, with a total of 9,761,170 registered voters. (PB/PIA 4A)
The Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas is a weekly media forum program of the Philippine Information Agency, in partnership with the Presidential Communications Office, highlighting the programs, projects, and policies of the national government under the Bagong Pilipinas governance agenda of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration.