THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to have as many as 3 million overseas voters in time for the 2028 presidential polls.
Speaking during the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing for the establishment of field overseas voter registration centers last Friday, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they want to have a total of 3 million Filipinos abroad enlisted.
“We are hoping that we take it to the next level in voter registration. Hopefully, at least 3 million overseas Filipinos will be registered,” said Garcia.
He said this means that they must be able to register some 2 million new overseas voters when they resume their overseas voter registration activities by December 1, 2025.
“Hopefully, we can register at least 2 million of our countrymen for the next two years,” said Garcia.
He said he believes that such a target is doable as the next electoral exercise will be a presidential election, which usually gets higher interest.
“2028 is a very crucial year. 2028 is crucial in our political history because we are electing the president and vice president and other positions. This is very important,” said Garcia.
The poll chief said the help of other government agencies will also help ensure meeting the target numbers.
“We should be able to convince them and they should realize that nation-building shouldn’t be limited to those within the country. Nation-building will always be a part of being a Filipino. Therefore, no matter where they are, they must participate with us,” said Garcia.
The overseas voter registration period is set to resume on December 1, 2025 and will run until September 30, 2027.
The last overseas voter registration period ran from December 9, 2022 to September 30, 2024, wherein only around 200,000 enlisted.
During the May 2025 polls, there were an estimated 1.241 million registered overseas voters.
