Student councils across University of the Philippines (UP) units adopted a resolution on increasing awareness and participation for the 2025 midterm elections on Saturday, Feb. 8, during the 58th General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) held at the UP Diliman Extension Program in Pampanga in Clark, Pampanga.
Resolution No. 2025-004, “A Resolution urging the General Assembly of Student Councils to increase awareness and participation for the 2025 National Midterm Elections”, authored by UP Visayas University Student Council, was given the nod by 40 student councils from different UP constituent units and colleges in recognition of the role of the youth in the 2025 polls.
Resolution co-author UP Mindanao College of Science and Mathematics Student Council emphasized the power of youth votes in “fostering active participation and driving genuine political change that will shape the country’s future,” UP Visayas student publication Pagbutlak reported.
During the deliberation, student councils highlighted the role of student leaders in unifying the studentry on national issues and the midterm elections through information drives, anti-disinformation campaigns, and educational discussions (ED).
On youth voter demographics
According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ‘s latest data, out of the 68 million registered voters for the May 12 elections, at least a third are from the youth sector, amounting to 21,649,760 within the 18-30 age group.
The number of youth voters registered in 2025 polls is much higher than the recorded 20,437,793 registered youth voters in 2019 midterm elections.
In a press conference on 5 October 2024, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia recognized the importance of youth votes.
“More or less nag-e-expect tayo ng mga hanggang 20 million members ng Gen-Z, ng mga [kabataang botante], na napaka-importante ang [kanilang] boto sapagkat it is enough to elect a senator, several partylist, and therefore ‘yung votes nila will matter”, Garcia told the media.
[More or less, we are expecting up to 20 million youth voters; their votes are important since it is enough to elect a senator and several parties, and therefore, their votes will matter.]
About the GASC
The General Assembly of Student Councils (GASC) comprises student councils in every college and constituent unit of the UP System as mandated by the UP Charter.
The GASC convenes bi-annually to discuss matters on student rights and services leading up to national issues as organized by the UP Office of the Student Regent.
The student regent is the sole representative of 64,000 students of the UP System to the Board of Regents. UP Diliman MS Geography student Francesca Mariae Duran currently serves as the 41st Student Regent of UP.
In its 58th edition, the GASC gathered on 6-8 February in UP Clark and via teleconferencing and passed 16 resolutions calling for improved student services and spaces, better fiscal management amid the budget cut for the UP System, and on matters of elections and the impeachment of VP Sara Duterte.
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READ: #VotePH2025: How are college students preparing to vote?
