The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting expressed dismay on Tuesday over the low turnout of the voter’s registration conducted by the Commission on Elections for the village and Sangguniang Kabataan elections scheduled on Oct. 23 this year.
PPCRV vice chairman for internal affairs Johnny Cardenas said the low turnout shows that many Filipinos, particularly the youth of today, “are disregarding the importance of choosing their leaders through elections, even to the lowest level of community groups.”
Cardenas said the Comelec recorded 2,174,601 new voters, less than half the expected five million new and reactivated voters.
“It did not even reach the 2.5 million expected voters for the village and SK elections,” Cardenas said in a radio interview.
The SK and barangay elections, originally set for Oct. 31, 2016, were reset to Oct. 23 this year.
In stressing the PPCRV’s disappointment, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said in order to make democracy effective “we must be an active group of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote does not have the right to complain. Voting is one the most fundamental civil duties.”
“Voting is one the most fundamental civil duties of every Filipino,” the CBCP said.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said many people did not register because they are still uncertain if the elections would push through, amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to postpone the village and SK elections again.