John Arcilla praises young voters for 2025 midterm elections turnout

MANILA, Philippines — Award-winning actor John Arcilla lauded young Filipino voters for showing up at the polls during the recently concluded 2025 midterm elections.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recorded an 81.65% voter turnout in this year's polls, the highest participation rate ever for midterm elections in the Philippines and just slightly below the 82.5% turnout from the 2022 polls.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia said the high turnout was a result of strong youth participation during this election cycle.

There were 68.4 million voters registered for the 2025 midterm elections. Of this number, at least 28.11 million are voters aged 18 to 34 years old.

Arcilla offered his congratulations to Gen Z and young voters in a Facebook post, "NAKAKABUHAY ng TIWALA muli sa Pilipino. Nakaka tanggal Trauma."

The actor called on such voters to continue doing research as hundreds of positions are in the mix during elections.

"Hindi tayo makakakita ng SUPER SIGNIFICANT na pagbabago PERO SIGURADONG MERON!" Arcilla continued. "And it is a GOOD START, kasi magiging 'ON THEIR TOES' na ang iba. Kahit makalahati pa natin ang MATINO, magulo pa din yan. Bakit hindi pa 100% kaya naman natin."

He ended his Facebook post by sharing his goal of having elected officials that have good track records, are not corrupt, and not a member of a political dynasty, and extended his words of praise to all Filipino voters.

During election day last May 12, Arcilla criticized the budget allocated for education as the school tables used in his precinct were damaged.

"Asan ang budget sa EDUKASYON? Tapos boboto tayo ng mga corrupt eh nakaharap mismo satin ang EBIDENSIYA NG MGA MALI NATING PAGPILI? Ano na mga kababayan? AYUSIN NAMAN NATIN ANG PAGBOTO KAHIT LAST MINUTE," Arcilla said then.

RELATED: Midterm voter turnout hits historic high of 81.65% — Comelec