THE 2025 May midterm elections saw a “very high” voter turnout, with particularly strong participation in Mindanao, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said on Wednesday.
In a press conference, PPCRV spokesperson Ana D. Singson said the parish-based watchdog recorded an estimated 80.27% turnout, led by a strong showing in Mindanao — an unlikely figure for a midterm election.
The figure is significantly higher than the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) target of at least 70% voter turnout, out of 68 million registered voters.
“Very high turnout, especially in the southern regions. Usually, voter turnout is not as high, nalalayo siya (it differs) from the presidential election,” Ms. Singson said.
“But this time, we had 80.27% of voters turning up… So, I think that means people are really excited.”
She added that the PPCRV will soon release its full report, allowing the public to see the regional voter turnout data.
In the 2022 presidential elections, the Comelec recorded a voter turnout of 82.6%, or 55.5 million out of 67.4 million registered voters, while a turnout of 75.95% was recorded in 2019.
Political scientist and retired University of the Philippines professor Clarita A. Carlos linked this to the increased youth participation in this election, with many hoping to change the current political landscape.
“The young are sick and tired of the kind of politics we have, and the noise they’re hearing,” Ms. Carlos said in an interview.
“And I guess some part of it may have come from the realization of many that it is their responsibility to really participate. Otherwise, they have no reason, you know, to comment or even critique any of the actions of the government,” she added.
According to COMELEC data, millennials and Gen Z voters account for 60.5% or 41,412,361 of the total 68,431,965 registered voters in the 2025 midterm elections.
Meanwhile, Ms. Singson called for more volunteers to join the PPCRV as more physical copies of election returns (ERs) arrive for the unofficial parallel count.
During this process, the PPCRV compares the physical ERs it receives with the digital ERs transmitted from the precincts.
The PPCRV currently holds 11,860 physical ERs, or 12.71% of the total, and the watchdog expects more to come, Ms. Singson said. — Edg Adrian A. Eva
