State workers, journalists may apply for absentee voting – Comelec

MANILA, Philippines - Government officials and employees, including soldiers and policemen, as well as media workers who want to avail themselves of the privilege to vote ahead of the May 2016 polls can apply for local absentee voting until March 7 next year, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

The Comelec set the local absentee voting from April 27 to 29, 2016. Voting will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Covered by the privilege are government officials, members of the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines and media workers who will be on election duty on May 9, 2016.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said those who want to cash their ballots in April must ensure that they are registered voters.

“You can’t be a local absentee voter without first being a registered voter. That’s why the Comelec is encouraging those eligible for local absentee voting to validate their registration,” he said.

Jimenez said government workers may file their application forms with the head of their offices not later than March 7, 2016.

He said media workers can submit their application forms to the office of the election officer or office of the provincial election supervisor. They should present certification from their companies that they are bonafide members of the media.

Voting will be done manually and limited to national positions, including party-list representatives, Jimenez said.

The ballots will be kept by the Comelec and counted after the voting on election day.

Overseas absentee voting

The Comelec is aiming for a higher voter turnout from overseas Filipinos in the 2016 elections, officials told a congressional hearing yesterday.

Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim told the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms the poll body is doing everything it can to encourage registered Filipino voters overseas to participate in the polls, including forging partnerships with local broadcast media, which have programs that can be viewed abroad.

“We’re aiming for a 60 to 80 percent voter turnout. It’s ambitious but we have to aim high,” Lim told the hearing chaired by Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro.

“We are telling our modern-day heroes that voting is an act of patriotism,” Lim said.

He said the Comelec expects higher turnout “because Filipinos are really interested to vote for president and vice president.”

Lim noted that in the 2013 elections, the voter turnout from Filipinos abroad was only 16 percent.

To date, he said 1.4 million Filipinos abroad have registered with biometrics, of which 300,000 come from the Middle East and 200,000 from the US.

The Comelec set the overseas absentee voting from April 9 to May 9, 2016.

The poll body will deploy mobile voting stations to encourage voters.

Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has mobilized its volunteers nationwide to assist the Comelec during the last week of voter registration.

PPCRV head Henrietta de Villa said she ordered PPCRV coordinators to field volunteers to the different Comelec offices and shopping malls to help maintain order and provide assistance to the registrants.

The deadline for voter registration is on Oct. 31. – With Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan