Fewer OFWs opting to register for 2025 polls

MANILA, Philippines —  Fewer Filipinos abroad are opting to register for the May 2025 midterm elections, according to the Commission on Elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia reported that the number of registered overseas voters remains at 1.18 million.

“Our projection is 1.486 million overseas voters,” Garcia said, noting that the figure is still way below their target.

He said they understand that Filipinos abroad could not register either due to work or they are staying far from the registration sites.

Garcia expressed optimism that many Filipinos abroad would be encouraged to register as the Comelec will be implementing internet voting in 2025.

He also expects the different Philippine posts abroad to mount satellite registration activities to lure more Filipinos to register for the 2025 polls.

At a public briefing on Tuesday, Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the number of registered voters dropped because many were deactivated for failure to vote in previous elections.

Laudiangco said the Comelec has received 400,000 applications for registration from Filipinos abroad.

He said there are 15 million overseas Filipinos, but only 1.4 million have registered for the 2025 elections.

Laudiangco stressed the need for registered overseas voters to pre-enroll so they could avail themselves of the internet voting system.