Voting for 504,000 Filipinos overseas starts today

Over half a million overseas Filipinos will cast their votes for the May 2007 elections as the overseas absentee voting (OAV) process begins today.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday that all systems are in place for the OAV for senators and party-list groups.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Special Concerns and chairman of the OAV Secretariat Rafael Seguis yesterday said the Foreign Service is ready to serve 504,110 Filipino registrants in 156 countries through the OAV process involving 88 foreign service posts in the conduct of the midterm elections.

Seguis also said all foreign service personnel are under strict orders to maintain impartiality at all times: "After months of extensive preparations in partnership and support of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Foreign Service is ready to serve overseas Filipinos in the conduct of these midterm elections."

The DFA said the voting period for the OAV process will continue until precincts close on May 14.

The second-time OAV is the first of its kind for midterm or non-presidential elections and there is now a higher rate of qualified voters than in the 2004 presidential and local polls, when the OAV process was first implemented.

A total of 504,110 Filipinos registered in 156 countries compared to 361,446 registrants for the 2004 elections. Of the new registrants, 55,742 of them registered abroad; 39,223 registered at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA); and 47,669 registered at NAIA while waiting for their flights to foreign destinations.

Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos said that in areas like Hong Kong, the OAV is a much-awaited event by overseas Filipinos because it gives them a chance to get together and reconnect with the Philippines.

"In Hong Kong, they usually go (to polling precincts) in droves," Abalos said. "It’s really a festive atmosphere (since the) OAV is a month-long affair."

The OAV process is mandated under the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 to ensure equal opportunities so all qualified overseas Filipinos can exercise their right to participate in the election of the president, vice president, senators and party-list members of the House of Representatives.

This year, Filipinos located in 61 countries will vote by mail – a major increase from the three countries where overseas Filipinos were allowed to cast their votes by mail in the 2004 elections.

"The intention in expanding voting by mail is to make the election as convenient as possible for our citizens overseas," he said.

A total of 174,832 voters are entitled to receive and mail back their ballots through the postal system for this year’s elections, while 329,278 overseas Filipino voters will cast their ballots personally at the foreign posts.

In Vietnam, Seguis said, there is field voting in Ho Chi Minh City under the supervision of the Philippine Honorary Consulate General.

"During the 2004 elections, the rate of participation among our compatriots overseas was 65 percent," Seguis said. "We aim to have at least the same level of participation, or hopefully a higher turnout depending on the response of our registered voters."

The DFA and the Comelec appealed to the 500,000 or so OAV registrants to exercise their right to vote: "The votes cast by our compatriots overseas can make a real difference in the forthcoming elections. Their active interest and vigilance in monitoring the OAV exercise will also help safeguard the credibility of this year’s polls."

Former Comelec chairman Christian Monsod said the OAV process is a "major force" that can have strong impact on the election results: "Absentee voting could be a major force on the results of elections and I think that many of our legislators realize that this is really an intelligent vote. You cannot buy an overseas Filipino worker’s (OFW) vote."

To enable more OFWs to vote, Monsod wanted absentee voting to be done by mail as the Comelec had proposed to Congress during his tenure there in 1995.

However, "Congress mangled the concept with the present law," he said. "Many legislators do not want a high turnout of absentee voters because they are intelligent voters."

Monsod also said he preferred to reach out to OFWs instead of dual citizens: "To me, the OFW is the more important one... These are the people (who) I think should be heard, not those who really do not have a long-term interest in this country and are Filipino citizens for convenience."

He also said that in countries where absentee voting is successful, the OAV process is done by mail: "That is where (absentee voters) make their voices heard in the country because election is the ultimate accountability step. It’s accountability in the Constitution and that’s where they’re interested. You cannot take the sense of political participation (away from) Filipinos just because they’re abroad."

In Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Loren Legarda said the month-long OAV will be closely watched by all Filipinos as a preview of whether or not the May 14 elections in the Philippines will be clean.

Legarda underscored the need for the government to ensure that the OAV is credible, because this will be seen as a reflection of what will happen at home come May.

Noting that the first OAV held in 2004 in Philippine embassies and consulates was controversial, Legarda said there is also a need for all overseas Filipinos to both cast and guard their votes.

She urged Filipino organizations abroad to make copies of election tallies in their areas so they can be cross-matched with official tallies sent to the Philippines.

Legarda said the OAV process is vulnerable to cheating because political parties do not have the resources to send representatives to the 88 overseas posts where the OAV will be held.

She also called on government officials tasked to oversee the conduct of this year’s OAV to fulfill their oaths of office by ensuring a clean and credible OAV process.

In the 2004 OAV, a videotape surfaced purportedly showing cheating taking place during the absentee voting.

"Our men and women in our embassies and consulates have a duty to make certain that the voice of our people – as expressed through the ballot – is not stifled," she added.

Legarda recently topped mock elections held among OFWs in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

She said that, despite alleged massive cheating in the 2004 elections, a survey of the Social Weather Stations showed that two of every three Filipinos have high hopes that this election will not be marred by fraud: "Our people want this election to be clean, so I call on them to be vigilant in guarding against those who want to cheat."

Sen. Panfilo Lacson suggested that the OAV period be shortened from one month to only two weeks to derail any plans to manipulate the overseas voting results. – With Christina Mendez