The two biggest local government units in the Cordillera have the most number of unregistered voters in the region prompting the Commission on Elections to postpone the deadline for registration from September 1 to 30.
The Comelec for Baguio and Benguet logged a relatively turn out of registrants for the 2022 election with Benguet logging 217,888 when its total population is 460,683 or a measly 47.30 percent.
Baguio fares even worse with only 151,245 registrants of the 366,358, based on the 2020 census of the Philippine Statistics Agency, population or an even lower 41.28 percent .
Abra has more registered voters than Baguio with 171,580 or an eye popping 70.35 percent of its population, the best in the region.
Practically every person of voting age have been registered with the Comelec “because everybody wants to vote,” said lawyer John Paul Martin, Comelec Baguio election supervisor.
Martin said that the low turnout of registrants in Baguio might be attributed to the youth sector, mostly new registrants, to enroll as “they might have lost interest in the election because it was always them then. But it might be different now and maybe they will wake up [and register],” he said.
But then Martin added that there are many factors to consider including Baguio being a melting pot and “who is actually we can call as I-Baguio.”
Martin, however, is hopeful that there will be an influx of registrants in the next days, since the deadline has been set at the end of October, just a few days before the candidates file their certificate to run.
He, however, said that “there is an increasing number of new voters now registering lately at Comelec Baguio not like in the past previous week,…”
He added that it could be “beating the deadline.”
He said that they are now averaging at least 209 registrants a day.
After Abra, Mountain Province has the best record of 67.80 percent, where 107,264 of its 158,200 residents are already registered.
The fastest growing province the past five years, Kalinga, has a relatively high 61.97 percent accomplishment or 142,264 registered voters of the 229,570 population.
With 124,776 of its 207,498 population, Ifugao has 60.13 percent, while the smallest LGU, Apayao, which has 124,366 residents, has 72,254 registered voters or 58.10 percent which is still higher than the 55.20 percent average of the region, total of 992,271 registered voters of 1,797,660 population.
