‘With the preparations for overseas voting in place, the Comelec under Pangarungan is on the right track in overseeing this year’s elections, ensuring that these will be clean and honest.’
THE first group of Filipinos to vote is the OFW (overseas Filipino workers) sector. They start going to the consulate offices abroad to fill up their ballots, or send their ballots by mail to the Comelec-DFA overseas voting secretariat.
The overseas voting will start on April 10 and will run until the election day on May 9, 2022.
They will be voting for national candidates only or those running for the positions of president, vice president, senator, and party-list groups.
Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo said they will be implementing the two-way postage system for those who will be voting using the postal service. This means the postage for the return of the official ballots is included in the ballot to be distributed to the OFWs and absentee voters abroad.
Based on Comelec data, there are 1.7 million overseas absentee voters, including 450,282 in Asia Pacific.
We note the efforts of the present Comelec en banc, led by Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan, to provide the heroes of the national economy, the OFWs, the chance to exercise their right to suffrage, however hard the process would be, considering the geopolitical challenges and conflicts in the world today.
The poll body is looking to suspend the holding of the May 9 polls in seven countries covering four Philippine posts that have 127 registered voters due to peace and order problems. These are the posts in Baghdad for Iraq; Tripoli covering Algeria, Chad, Tunisia, and Libya; Afghanistan for Islamabad; and Ukraine for Warsaw.
Casquejo said the voting in Islamabad and Warsaw will likely be suspended because of the mandatory repatriation there. He said voting is expected not also be held in Baghdad and Tripoli for currently not having overseas voting capabilities. Voting is also temporarily suspended in Shanghai, China following the Chinese government’s imposition of a lockdown due to the resurgence of COVID-19. There are over 1,600 registered voters in the area. If the lockdown is lifted, they can vote.
To further encourage the OFWs to vote, the Comelec en banc has passed a resolution that will allow Filipinos abroad to vote in Philippine posts other than where they are currently registered. He said overseas voters, who had to move after the close of the registration period to another country or area under the jurisdiction of another post, can vote if the said post is implementing personal voting. The voter may file a Manifestation of Intent to Vote in Another Post (MIVAP) to be able to participate in the polls.
With the preparations for overseas voting in place, the Comelec under Pangarungan is on the right track in overseeing this year’s elections, ensuring that these will be clean and honest.
