ELECTIONS 2022: Who to woo? Vote-rich provinces, cities, and regions
With the May 9 elections coming up, candidates for national positions are trying to woo the 67.5 million Filipinos from all over the country and overseas.
The elections, which will be held in different poll precincts in and out of the country, will also determine the successors of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo as the 17th President and 15th Vice President of the Philippines.
The winning candidates will lead the country through pandemic recovery and the seemingly unstoppable slew of disinformation and misinformation on social media and newly sprouted news websites.
Every vote counts, and here are the most vote-rich regions, provinces, and cities based on the most recent Commission on Elections (COMELEC) data.
Vote-rich provinces
The province of Cebu leads the list of most vote-rich provinces, with around 3.288 million registered voters. This translates to roughly 206,000 more voters in the province than in 2019.
Here are the provinces joining Cebu in the top 10 vote-rich provinces along with the number of registered voters:
Cebu – 3,288,778
Cavite – 2,302,353
Pangasinan – 2,096,936
Laguna – 2,045,687
Bulacan – 2,007,523
Negros Occidental – 1,946,639
Batangas – 1,819,071
Iloilo – 1,628,752
Rizal – 1,601,962
Pampanga – 1,580,473
The 10 most vote-rich provinces have a total of 20.318 million voters, nearly one-third of the country’s voter population for the May 9 elections.
Vote-rich cities
Quezon City fronts the list of vote-rich cities, with its total number of voters surpassing one million. Together with Manila, the two are the only cities with votes breaching one million.
Other cities joining Quezon City in the top 10 vote-rich cities are:
Quezon City – 1,403,895
City of Manila – 1,133,042
City of Davao – 992,538
City of Cebu – 733,044
City of Caloocan – 700,279
City of Antipolo – 471,250
City of Makati – 458,362
City of Pasig – 457,370
City of Taguig – 449,359
City of Zamboanga – 445,240
Vote-rich regions
Region-wise, Calabarzon or Region IV-A still has the most number of voters among Philippine regions, having increased its voter count to 9.193 million in the 2022 elections, from 8.674 million in 2019.
Here are the provinces joining Calabarzon in the top 10 vote-rich provinces along with the number of registered voters:
Calabarzon – 9,193,096
NCR – 7,322,361
Central Luzon – 7,289,791
Central Visayas – 5,249,066
Western Visayas – 5,026,482
Bicol Region – 3,910,261
Ilocos Region – 3,546,764
Davao Region – 3,236,251
Eastern Visayas – 3,166,260
Northern Mindanao – 3,060,485
In 2019, 71.25% voted from the top vote-rich region, while NCR garnered only 69.47% in voters’ turnout.
During the 2019 elections only 46.937 million out of 61.843 million registered voters cast their ballots. In Quezon City, only 68.26% of the total voters actually voted, according to COMELEC data. The commission pegged the voter turnout at the national level at only 75.9%.
The government and poll-watching organizations are now encouraging Filipinos to vote despite the COVID-19 pandemic, as the restrictions have gone down.
Pola Rubio is a news writer and photojournalist covering Philippine politics and events. She regularly follows worldwide and local happenings.
Watch more videos on Yahoo:
