Bureau of Immigration, Comelec to launch information drive on absentee voting

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will soon launch a public information campaign to encourage overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to register and vote in the 2013 midterm elections.

Immigration officers assigned in different international airports will soon be distributing flyers to all departing OFWs and other “balikbayans,” urging them to register as absentee voters in next year’s polls, Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said.

David said the information drive is a collaborative undertaking between the BI and Comelec.

He said the Comelec’s education and information department had proposed to provide the BI with adequate number of flyers on overseas absentee voting that will be distributed to Filipino travelers when they pass the airports’ immigration departure counters.

David issued a memorandum order last July 4, instructing the BI airport operations division to ensure that the flyers are properly distributed to all outbound Filipino passengers by inserting them between the pages of the passengers’ passport.

Enacted on Feb. 13, 2003, Republic Act 9189 - otherwise known as the Overseas Absentee Voting Act - provides for a system enabling Filipino citizens currently residing or working abroad to vote in an election.

The act states that all Filipinos abroad who are at least 18 years old at the time of elections are entitled to vote and they may file their applications personally at the nearest Philippine embassy or consulate.

Overseas absentee voters are required to hold a valid Philippine passport.

For seafarers, a photocopy of the seaman’s book is required, while those who availed of citizenship retention and reacquisition act must submit a copy of the order approving their petition for dual citizenship.