25k Pinoys cast votes in Singapore; Bato, ACT-CIS top choices

Published May 21, 2019 10:01am

Close to 25,000 Filipinos in Singapore cast their votes during the month-long overseas absentee voting for the May 13 midterm elections.

The total number of voters who participated in the OAV — 24,989 — represents 33% of the 76,000 registered voters in the city state.

Based on the official results released by the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, the top 40 senatoriables are:

1. Dela Rosa, Bato — 18,160
2. Ong, Doc Willie — 17,874
3. Go, Bong Go — 17,623
4. Marcos, Imee — 17,139
5. Cayetano, Pia — 16,117
6. Villar, Cynthia — 13,744
7. Tolentino, Francis — 12,400
8. Chong, Glenn — 12,278
9. Gadon, Larry — 10,733
10. Angara, Edgardo Sonny — 10,033
11. Alunan, Raffy Alunan — 9,421
12. Pimentel, Koko — 8,501
13. Manicad, Jiggy — 7,959
14. Poe, Grace — 7,515
15. Mangudadatu, Dong — 7,316
16. Ejercito, Estrada JV — 7,241
17. Osmeña, Serge — 5,523
18. Lapid, Lito — 5,183
19. Aquino, Benigno Bam — 4,425
20. Bong Revilla, Ramon Jr — 4,164
21. Diokno, Chel — 4,028
22. Roxas, Mar — 3,946
23. Tañada, Lorenzo Erin Tapat  — 3,158
24. Enrile, Juan Ponce — 3,138
25. Gutoc, Samira — 3,064
26. Hilbay, Pilo — 3,042
27. Alejano, Gary — 2,992
28. Macalintal, Macaromy — 2,930
29. Estrada, Jinggoy — 2,927
30. Binay, Nancy — 2,784
31. Colmenares, Neri — 2,532
32. Aguilar, Freddie — 2,242
33. Valdes, Butch — 1,673
34. Casiño, Toti — 1,672
35. Escudero, Agnes — 801
36. Montaño, Allan  — 744
37. Mangondato, Faisal — 741
38. De Guzman, Ka Leody — 598
39. Arellano. Ernesto — 545
40. Padilla, Dado — 503

Meanwhile, for party-list groups, the top 20 that garnered the most number of votes are the following:

1. ACT-CIS — 9,076
2. AA-Kasosyo Party — 2,833
3. OFW Family — 994
4. ACTS-OFW— 805
5. Duterte Youth — 744
6. Magdalo — 667
7. Magsasaka — 581
8. Bayan Muna — 529
9. CIBAC — 522
10. GABRIELA — 468
11. Senior Citizens — 417
12. Sagip — 380
13. ANG NARS — 269
14. Buhay — 237
15. ABAKADA — 209
16. Kalinga — 183
17. Akbayan — 177
18. ACT Teachers — 157
19. Ako Bicol  — 156
20. 1PACMAN — 152

The Philippine Embassy in Singapore saw a smaller turnout at 33% compared to the 50% voter turnout during the 2016 presidential elections. First Secretary and Consul J. Anthony Reyes said this is hardly surprising.

"That is the trend for overseas voting of most of our embassies and consulates. Mataas ang interes sa presidentail election, pero sa senatorial or midterm election, mas mababa," he said.

"It's slower. During the 2016 presidential election, our voter turnout was around 39,000 out of 86,000 registered voters. That’s almost 50%. This year 25,000 to 26,000 estimate voters out of the total 76,000, or only around 33% voter turnout. So mas mababa."

Meanwhile, only a total of 1,900 (or 7.6%) of the Filipino voters in Singapore availed of the comfort of postal voting. This was the 2019 mandate of Commission on Elections (Comelec) for most OAV polling embassies and consulates.

"Because of the size of Singapore, its [Filipino] constituents prefer to travel to the embassy to vote," Reyes said.

Gene Segara Navera, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore and an absentee voter since 2010, had his ballot posted to him but he chose to bring it to the embassy to make sure it gets counted.  

"Voting overseas allows me to demand accountability from elected officials whether I voted for them or not. My participation in the electoral system though imperfect is a way to manifest my ownership of the democratic process. Of course, civic engagement doesn’t end with the elections. It’s the beginning of a new cycle of critical engagement and participation. Hopefully, more overseas Filipinos participate in future elections," he said. —KBK, GMA News

By DAZZELYN BALTAZAR ZAPATA