Kabataan Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino today urged the Commission on Elections to return the deadline of voters registration to its original date of December 15 in light of the recent tragedies that struck the nation.

“The damage brought about by Ondoy and Pepeng is enormous. Many flood victims will be busy recovering and rehabilitating their homes in the coming weeks, hoping to return to the normal course of their lives,” Palatino said.

Palatino said while Comelec’s move to open the registration on Sundays is laudable, this is not enough to allow more first-time voters to register. “The Comelec should at least extend the registration in areas affected by the recent typhoons,” he said.

“With thirteen days left to register, how can the Comelec reach its target? Extending the registration period for 45 days won’t hurt. Besides, I thought the computerization of the polls is supposed to speed up election processes, from preparations to counting of ballots. If the Comelec is not capable of extending the registration period, how can we be assured that there would be no system glitches come election time,” he said.

Meanwhile, nearing the deadline for voters’ registration, Palatino urged once more fellow youth and other first-time voters to grab the opportunity and take time off to register for the 2010 polls.

“For 364 days, makapangyarihan ang mga pulitiko, pero sa araw ng halalan (for that one day), makapangyarihan ang mga botante. Let us not waste this opportunity,” the youth solon said.

Palatino said the youth should not be discouraged from participating in the national elections. “Aabot sa 40 percent ang youth voters na may edad 18-35. Humigit-kumulang limang milyon ang first-time voters. Ito ay malaking bilang. Isang milyon lang ang lamang ni GMA kay FPJ. Sa 2010 pwedeng idikta ng kabataan ang resulta ng halalan…kung rehistrado at boboto ang mga kabataan,” the youth solon said.

The young lawmaker said, “Cynics said there is no such thing as a youth vote. Let us prove them wrong and show our generation’s political power. History has shown us that the youth can shape the results of the national polls.”