Number of aspiring voters exceeds 1.7 million

MANILA, Philippines — The number of those who registered and are aspiring to vote in the May 2025 midterm elections has exceeded 1.7 million, according to the Commission on Elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia reported that the poll body has received a total of 1,716,019 applications for registration as of March 26.

Among the 17 regions nationwide, Calabarzon posted the biggest number of applicants with 313,826, followed by Metro Manila with 255,679 and Central Luzon with 191,320.

Central Visayas ranked fourth with 125,063, and the Davao region fifth with 113,443.

On the other hand, the Cordillera Administrative Region listed the lowest number of applicants with 20,534, followed by Mimaropa with 40,280 and Caraga with 46,441.

A total of 1,842 aspiring voters submitted their applications at the Comelec main office in Intramuros.

Of the total applicants, 891,817 are female while 824,193 are male.

The Comelec is targeting more than three million individuals to register as voters during the seven-month voter registration period that runs until Sept. 30, 2024.

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco reported that internet voting will be the “primary mode” of voting for Filipinos abroad in next year’s elections.

“The conduct of in-person or mall-in voting will only happen in countries where internet voting isn’t allowed,” Laudiangco said yesterday. “We’re after not only giving our countrymen a convenient way to vote, but for our government to reduce its costs.”

There are 17 countries with internet restrictions, but Laudiangco said the Comelec is still negotiating with the respective governments for the possibility of allowing internet voting for Filipinos.

Among these countries are China, Russia, Türkiye, Nigeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iran and Libya.

Laudiangco said Israel is no longer on the list, but due to the current situation there, “various modes of voting are being considered.”

Yesterday, the Comelec-Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) held the second round of bidding for the P465.8-million Online Voting and Counting System for the midterm polls.

With P112,000,000, the joint venture of SMS Global Technologies Inc. and Sequent Tech Inc. was