Overseas absentee voting registration resumes today

MANILA, Philippines — Starting today, Filipinos abroad can register and be able to participate in the overseas absentee voting for the May 2022 elections.         

Election Commissioner Rowena Guanzon urged Filipinos overseas who have not yet registered to exercise their right to vote.         

“You have a big contribution in the country’s economy. It is, therefore, just right that you participate in our democratic process,” she said in a video message.         

Guanzon said applications may be filed at any post abroad or at designated registration centers outside the post or in designated registration centers in the Philippines.      

Under the Commission on Election (Comelec) Resolution 10619, the application to become registered overseas voters can be filed from Dec. 16, 2019 until Sept. 30, 2021. The filing of the application to transfer from Post to a Philippine municipality or city will be from Dec. 16, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2021.         

During the registration period, Comelec will also be accepting Petitions for Inclusion/Exclusion, Correction of Entry, Transfer of Registration Records, and Reactivation.         

Filipino citizens, who are abroad or will be abroad during the 30-day voting period and are at least 18 years old, are allowed to register as overseas voters.         

Those who have already lost their Filipino citizenship or have renounced it and have pledged allegiance to a foreign country are disqualified from voting in Philippine elections.         

Also not allowed to register or vote are Filipino citizens who are declared insane by a competent authority as verified by the Philippine embassy or consulate.

More than 1.8 million Filipinos registered for the May 2019 midterm polls while the Comelec deactivated over half a million overseas voters who failed to vote in the 2016 and 2019 polls.