RP gov’t unlikely to meet 1M OAV target under current timetable
MANILA, Philippines - Unless next month’s registration deadline for overseas voters is moved, a militant lawmaker foresees the government’s failure to have a million new absentee voters for the 2010 elections.
Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo filed House Resolution No. 1249 seeking to move the August 31 deadline to December 15 to give Filipinos abroad enough time to register for the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV).
Quoting earlier reports by GMANews.TV, the lawmaker said that it is impossible for the government to get 1 million absentee voters since it should have had at least 166,666 registrants every month since the registration opened last February.
But as of Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ OAV Secretariat reported that only 127,758 are registered to vote for the 2010 polls. If the government is determined to meet the 1-million target, it would need 872,242 overseas registrants.
“The House of Representatives call on the Commission on Elections to extend the registration … in order to substantially increase the participation of overseas Filipinos in the May 10, 2010 national elections," Ocampo appealed in the proposed resolution.
With over eight million of them scattered throughout the globe, overseas Filipinos could help decide the result of the 2010 national elections. After Congress approved the OAV in 2003, about 300,000 Filipinos abroad have registered to vote in the two-month registration period.
But this number dipped in 2006 when only 142,000 Filipinos registered in the 13-month registration period for the 2007 elections.
“I don’t know why that happened," said Ambassador Nestor Padalhin of the OAV Secretariat, “The rest of the Filipinos might have already registered so the numbers went down."
Padalhin earlier told GMANews.TV that the Filipinos’ infamous "hasta mañana" habit should be blamed for the dismal number of registrants. [See: Pinoys' 'mañana' habit blamed for poor OAV registration turnout]
Unlikely excuse
Representative Ocampo, however, believes that Padalhin’s explanation was “an unlikely excuse" for the DFA Secretariat’s own shortcomings.
On November 27, 2008, Ocampo said, the Comelec promulgated Resolution No. 8556 that reset the OAV registration from December 1, 2008 to February 1, 2009 “since most of the Posts’ personnel assigned to handle the registration were new appointees without the necessary technical competence on the data-capturing machines (DCMs).
“The DFA-OAVS, averred that the transmittal of reports had been delayed and cited budgetary constraints such that ‘there is little time to plan the reallocation and redistribution of existing DCMs and peripherals as well as sourcing of new ones to send the needed DCMs and peripherals to Posts concerned,’" Ocampo said in his resolution.
But Padalhin stressed that they have done their best to increase the number of voters through aggressive media campaigns. The DFA official told GMANews.TV that they have recently wrote letters to various Filipino community leaders all over the world to help them increase the turnout.
Ocampo is urging his fellow lawmakers to approve the resolution to help the Comelec and the DFA-OAVs to implement aggressive campaigns and mobile registration mechanisms in countries where large Filipino communities live or work far from the diplomatic posts, such as in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and elsewhere.
Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer told GMANews.TV however, that the OAV registration deadline would remain and there are no plans yet to move it. - Joseph Holandes Ubalde, GMANews.TV
Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo filed House Resolution No. 1249 seeking to move the August 31 deadline to December 15 to give Filipinos abroad enough time to register for the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV).
Quoting earlier reports by GMANews.TV, the lawmaker said that it is impossible for the government to get 1 million absentee voters since it should have had at least 166,666 registrants every month since the registration opened last February.
But as of Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ OAV Secretariat reported that only 127,758 are registered to vote for the 2010 polls. If the government is determined to meet the 1-million target, it would need 872,242 overseas registrants.
“The House of Representatives call on the Commission on Elections to extend the registration … in order to substantially increase the participation of overseas Filipinos in the May 10, 2010 national elections," Ocampo appealed in the proposed resolution.
With over eight million of them scattered throughout the globe, overseas Filipinos could help decide the result of the 2010 national elections. After Congress approved the OAV in 2003, about 300,000 Filipinos abroad have registered to vote in the two-month registration period.
But this number dipped in 2006 when only 142,000 Filipinos registered in the 13-month registration period for the 2007 elections.
“I don’t know why that happened," said Ambassador Nestor Padalhin of the OAV Secretariat, “The rest of the Filipinos might have already registered so the numbers went down."
Padalhin earlier told GMANews.TV that the Filipinos’ infamous "hasta mañana" habit should be blamed for the dismal number of registrants. [See: Pinoys' 'mañana' habit blamed for poor OAV registration turnout]
Unlikely excuse
Representative Ocampo, however, believes that Padalhin’s explanation was “an unlikely excuse" for the DFA Secretariat’s own shortcomings.
On November 27, 2008, Ocampo said, the Comelec promulgated Resolution No. 8556 that reset the OAV registration from December 1, 2008 to February 1, 2009 “since most of the Posts’ personnel assigned to handle the registration were new appointees without the necessary technical competence on the data-capturing machines (DCMs).
“The DFA-OAVS, averred that the transmittal of reports had been delayed and cited budgetary constraints such that ‘there is little time to plan the reallocation and redistribution of existing DCMs and peripherals as well as sourcing of new ones to send the needed DCMs and peripherals to Posts concerned,’" Ocampo said in his resolution.
But Padalhin stressed that they have done their best to increase the number of voters through aggressive media campaigns. The DFA official told GMANews.TV that they have recently wrote letters to various Filipino community leaders all over the world to help them increase the turnout.
Ocampo is urging his fellow lawmakers to approve the resolution to help the Comelec and the DFA-OAVs to implement aggressive campaigns and mobile registration mechanisms in countries where large Filipino communities live or work far from the diplomatic posts, such as in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and elsewhere.
Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer told GMANews.TV however, that the OAV registration deadline would remain and there are no plans yet to move it. - Joseph Holandes Ubalde, GMANews.TV
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