Pinoys in US welcome vote prospects with a yawn

STAR Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Judging from the trickle of registrants over the weekend, Filipinos in the United States aren’t so excited about the historic opportunity of casting their votes in the May 2004 elections.

Initial turnout for the first three days of registration at the Philippine Embassy in Washington was at best tepid, and registration centers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Honolulu, Agana and Saipan in the Northern Marianas reported similarly anemic turnouts.

In Washington, 22 people registered for the May elections on the first day of registration on Aug. 1. The following day, a Saturday, 15 people registered and on Sunday, 18 more showed up. About half of all those who registered were embassy staff.

The dozen or so embassy staffers on "Comelec (Commission on Elections) duty" at the weekend had little to do, so they spent the time catching up on their everyday work, reading, chatting or primping.

Of course it’s too early to tell how the numbers will pan out as people have until Sept. 30 to register. But initial reports are not encouraging.

Consul General Jocelyn Batoon Garcia, the main Comelec representative in the US, refuses to be discouraged. But then she admits she is "an eternal optimist."

She said Filipinos in the US now had the historic opportunity to vote under the Overseas Absentee Voting Act and she was hopeful they would go out and cast their ballots.

She and her staff have been making the rounds of "sari-sari" type stores in the DC area to drop off election pamphlets in the run-up to the registration process. And she says they will continue to do so until they run out of material.

Comelec estimates there are about 220,000 Filipinos residing within the embassy’s jurisdiction which covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Of these 20,000 are expected to register.

Of about 2.5 million Filipinos or Filipino-Americans in the US, the Comelec estimate is some 385,000 are eligible voters. How many will actually turn out and vote is anyone’s guess.

The main problem is that unless prospective voters live near registration/voting centers, they will need to invest time and money to exercise their right to suffrage.

Community leaders, at a meeting in the embassy on the eve of the registration process, said in such a large country as the United States it was frustrating that people could not register and vote by mail.

One of them suggested, half in jest, that the embassy offer prospective voters some inducements to get them to register, such as a photo op with Ambassador Albert del Rosario or his picture cutout.

Another said Filipinos living near voting centers should open up their homes and host out-of-towners to boost voter turnout.

Actual voting itself will be spread over a month from April 11, 2004 to May 10, 2004.