1.4 M overseas absentee voters register for 2016 polls
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By Sheila Crisostomo, The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - Around 1.3 to 1.4 million Filipinos overseas have signed up as absentee voters for the May 2016 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.
In an interview, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they expect more Filipinos abroad to register because next year’s elections involve the presidency.
"Hopefully, since it is a presidential election, more people will be interested and more people will register," Jimenez said.
The Comelec is also hopeful that since the iRehistro Project is now available in all Philippine embassies abroad, it could encourage migrant Filipino workers to register.
Through the project, eligible voters would be able to access and accomplish the voter’s registration form even before going to the embassy or post. The project was designed to speed up the registration process.
But Jimenez admitted that the challenge is to make these absentee voters actually vote.
"What is important in overseas absentee voting is the conversion from registered to actual voters. The turnout was low in 2013," he said.
Comelec records showed that overseas absentee voters’ turnout in the 2007 and 2013 midterm polls were both 16 percent.
Records also showed that during the 2004 and 2010 presidential elections, 65 and 26 percent of registered absentee voters actually cast their votes, respectively.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by church-run Radio Veritas showed that six out of 10, or 64 percent, Filipinos do not favor a manual voting system for 2016.
Broken by region, 76 percent of voters from Luzon, 56 percent from the Visayas and 54 percent from Mindanao opt for automated elections, according to the nationwide poll.
The survey also showed that 87 percent of the Board of Election Inspectors would not want to go back to manual voting.
Almost all or 94 percent of BEIs from Mindanao believed the use of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines helped them manage the conduct of the elections, while 82 percent of BEIs from Luzon and 88 percent from the Visayas expressed the same opinion.
The results were consistent regardless of geographical location: 78 percent of voters from Luzon and the Visayas said PCOS machines were helpful, while only a slightly lower 72 percent was obtained from Mindanao.
With regard to trust in poll results due to the use of PCOS machines, 61 percent of the BEIs and 55 percent of voters said they believed the outcome of the elections.
Visayas recorded the highest trust rating in election results at 60 percent, while only 54 percent from Mindanao and 50 percent from Luzon said they trusted the outcome of the automated polls.
The survey was conducted from April to May with 1,200 respondents.
According to Radio Veritas president Fr. Anton Pascual, the Truth Survey is being conducted to bring to the fore the prevailing public opinion on issues of the day, which in this case is the coming elections. – With Evelyn Macairan
In an interview, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they expect more Filipinos abroad to register because next year’s elections involve the presidency.
"Hopefully, since it is a presidential election, more people will be interested and more people will register," Jimenez said.
The Comelec is also hopeful that since the iRehistro Project is now available in all Philippine embassies abroad, it could encourage migrant Filipino workers to register.
Through the project, eligible voters would be able to access and accomplish the voter’s registration form even before going to the embassy or post. The project was designed to speed up the registration process.
But Jimenez admitted that the challenge is to make these absentee voters actually vote.
"What is important in overseas absentee voting is the conversion from registered to actual voters. The turnout was low in 2013," he said.
Comelec records showed that overseas absentee voters’ turnout in the 2007 and 2013 midterm polls were both 16 percent.
Records also showed that during the 2004 and 2010 presidential elections, 65 and 26 percent of registered absentee voters actually cast their votes, respectively.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by church-run Radio Veritas showed that six out of 10, or 64 percent, Filipinos do not favor a manual voting system for 2016.
Broken by region, 76 percent of voters from Luzon, 56 percent from the Visayas and 54 percent from Mindanao opt for automated elections, according to the nationwide poll.
The survey also showed that 87 percent of the Board of Election Inspectors would not want to go back to manual voting.
Almost all or 94 percent of BEIs from Mindanao believed the use of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines helped them manage the conduct of the elections, while 82 percent of BEIs from Luzon and 88 percent from the Visayas expressed the same opinion.
The results were consistent regardless of geographical location: 78 percent of voters from Luzon and the Visayas said PCOS machines were helpful, while only a slightly lower 72 percent was obtained from Mindanao.
With regard to trust in poll results due to the use of PCOS machines, 61 percent of the BEIs and 55 percent of voters said they believed the outcome of the elections.
Visayas recorded the highest trust rating in election results at 60 percent, while only 54 percent from Mindanao and 50 percent from Luzon said they trusted the outcome of the automated polls.
The survey was conducted from April to May with 1,200 respondents.
According to Radio Veritas president Fr. Anton Pascual, the Truth Survey is being conducted to bring to the fore the prevailing public opinion on issues of the day, which in this case is the coming elections. – With Evelyn Macairan
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