Absentee voting law safe from fraud - Angara

Sen. Edgardo Angara said yesterday that the proposed Absentee Voting Law that the Senate approved on second reading last week has 35 safeguards against electoral fraud.

"Every step of the election process has safeguards to protect the integrity of the absentee vote," Angara said.

Of the 35 safeguards, nine cover the registration process, 11 on the security of the ballots and other election paraphernalia, four on actual voting, nine on counting and canvass of votes, Angara said.

Angara, principal author and sponsor of the measure and chairman of the Senate committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, said on-site canvassing was almost unanimously endorsed by leaders of Filipino organizations in Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles Rome and the Middle East.

"The political culture these Filipinos were exposed to abroad makes it virtually impossible to bribe them or to cheat in the count," he said.

The overseas Filipinos, who had apparently feared their votes would not be counted faithfully if canvassing were held in Manila, wanted on-site counting.

Under the pending bill, absentee voters have to be listed under a separate registry. The absentee voter’s name will be removed from that registry and transferred to the regular registry of voters should he or she decide to reside permanently in the Philippines. – Efren Danao