MANILA, Jan. 31 -- The majority of those who applied as new voters are youth aged 15 to 30 years old, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said during the registration period deadline on Tuesday.

"More or less 1.5 to 1.6 million those applied for registration as of today, that is over our target. Because of that, the registration will no longer be extended. Of the 1.6 million, more than half are young people who have registered. That means young people listened to our call to register," said Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia in an interview during his visit to the satellite registration hub at the SM City Manila.

He noted that the participation of more young Filipinos in the electoral process is a very welcome development.

"It's...