MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading amendments to Republic Act 9189 or the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 to allow more Filipinos abroad to vote in Philippine elections.
Dasmariñas City Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, said House Bill 3966 will make registration for overseas voting more accessible to Filipinos worldwide through the setting up of field and mobile registration centers.
Barzaga said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may file their application personally at any post or at designated registration centers approved by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and shall submit themselves for live capture of their biometrics.
Albay Rep. Al Francis Bichara, chairman of the House committee on foreign affairs, also endorsed the approval of the bill.
Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado, author of the bill, said the measure provides for the expansion of the coverage of RA 9189 by allowing Filipino overseas voters to vote not only in the presidential and midterm elections, but also in plebiscites.
Aumentado said Comelec records showed in the previous elections that there were at least 3.6 million qualified Filipino voters abroad.
“Out of this figure, 589,830 were registered voters while only 153,323 actually voted, broken down as follows: 39,564 voted by mail, 64,743 voted manually or in person and 49,016 voted through automation,” the lawmaker said.
“The present law provides for the voting by mail in only three countries. This limitation effectively disenfranchises many OFWs abroad,” he said.
Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello, another author of the bill, said the measure allows overseas Filipinos with dual citizenship to vote without renouncing their other allegiances.