ANAK NG BAYAN Youth Party today formally launched R-18, Kaya mo na
'tol, a nationwide voters' education campaign. The said campaign was
organized together with the National Union of Students of the Philippines
(NUSP), College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and former
convenors of the Estrada Resign Youth Movement (ERYM), the largest
youth network which figured prominently during the EDSA II uprising.
We firmly believe that the right to vote of every Filipino starts
with the responsibility to register. Republic Act 8189 or the Voters
Registration Act of 1986 mandates COMELEC to undertake a system of
continuing registration of voters, whereby voters may register any
day (Monday to Friday) during office hours (8 am to 5 pm) before the
election officer of the city municipality where the voter is a resident,
for the purpose of voting to any election, referenda or plebiscite.
Records of the Commission of Elections (COMELEC) show that in the
2001 elections, there were 36.3 million registered voters. This only
constitutes about 57% of the total voting age population in the Philippines.
Conversely, total youth voters falling in the 18 to 27 age bracket
was pegged at 15 million, of which only about 7 million were registered.
These figures only reflect that more and more youth are still disenfranchised
of their basic constitutional right to suffrage.
We in ANAK ng BAYAN therefore call upon the Filipino youth in all
parts of the country to register and vote in the upcoming 2004 elections.
Moreover, we urge COMELEC to launch similar information campaigns
and design ways to improve and make registration more accessible to
the people, especially the youth.
ANAK ng BAYAN stands firm in its commitment to help in all possible
way, the Filipino youth in the fight for their basic democratic rights,
with the problems of voters' registration in the immediate. The youth,
being the hope of the nation, must have a say in the electoral processes
as each of their single votes count.
A Youth caravan is set on August 25, Monday, starting from University
of the Philippines in Diliman to the University Belt area and Taft
Avenue, to start the series of activities in line with the R-18, Kaya
mo na 'tol voters' education campaign. The said campaign will take
place in major colleges and universities in the country through fora
and sypmposia, and lecture series in marketplaces, communities and
other areas with mass concentration.
