With less than a week before the voter registration ends, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging youth voters to register before the deadline.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) set the deadline for voter registration for the 2019 midterm elections on September 29.

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DILG Spokesperson Assistant Secretary Jonathan E. Malaya advised the unregistered youth voters to “avoid last-minute syndrome of registering on the day of the deadline or close to the closing date.”

Malaya noted that the voter registration for the 2019 polls started more than two months ago on July 2.

“Sa ating mga mamamayan, iwaksi na po natin ang ugaling ‘mamaya na’ (Let us encourage our citizens to ditch this habit of putting off things until the last minute) ,” he said in a statement on Monday.

Malaya emphasized that voting is the “most concrete way” to participate in democracy and to “change the course of governance by electing candidates whom they believe will lead our national and local governments with integrity and competency.”

Meanwhile, he prodded newly elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials to “mobilize their fellow youths” to register before September 29 and vote on May 13, 2019.

“SK officials are the models of youths in communities. Inform and inspire them of the power of right of suffrage, their right to choose, which in our colonial history was limited to elites or male citizens,” he said.

Malaya also emphasized that the youth vote will have a “lasting impact on the political and socio-economic future of our localities and our country.”

He cited that millennial voters comprise more than 45 percent of the electorates in the country.

“Kayo ang pipili ng mamumuno sa gobyerno na silang magpapasa ng mga batas, magpapatupad ng mga programang makakaapekto sa atin at magpapasya sa paggastos ng pondong galing sa ating mga buwis (You will chose government leaders who will pass laws, implement programs, and spend the funds coming from our taxes),” Malaya said.

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“So be sure to be a registered voter for the May 13 polls. Do it for yourself, for your family and friends, for our country. Sabi nga nila #YOLO, you only live once. And every three years, #YOVO, you only vote once for national and local elections,” he added. /ee

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