VP Binay proposes online registration to attract more overseas voters


Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday said an online election registration could attract more overseas Filipinos to participate in Philippine elections.

During the  "Forum on the Issue of Overseas Filipino Workers" (OFWs) in Makati City, Binay, the presidential adviser on OFW affairs, said many Filipinos have been unable to register for voting abroad because they are residing far from the Philippine embassies.

The registration for the May 2013 polls has ended last year.

There are an estimated 915,000 registered absentee voters in other countries.

“There are many of our overseas Filipino workers who are not in the urban areas, who are not in the very place where our Embassy and/or Consulate (are located),” Binay said.

“Which means there is a low turnout so far. Unless we are able to adopt an online election (registration), there will still be less Filipinos availing themselves of the right to vote,” he added.

According to the rules of overseas absentee voter registration, one must personally appear at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General or the identified registration site to register and for one’s biometrics to be captured.

Biometrics capture means a registrant’s photograph, signature and thumb mark will be electronically recorded using special digital equipment, therefore requiring one to be personally present in the process.

Binay said some Filipinos are unable to comply with this requirement because they are far away from the agencies where their presence is required to be able to register.

“[I]kaw ba naman magbabiyahe ka pa ng mga ilang oras para bumoto lang,” he said. “Kaya marami pa rin di pa nakakaregister,” Binay also said.

More voters

The Department of Foreign Affairs listed a total of 988,384 overseas voters, as the total number of new OAV registrants for the 2013 Elections reached 398,554, which was added to the stock total of 589,830.

The DFA noted that the number of new registrants was higher than OAV new registration numbers set in the 2004 (364,187), 2007 (143,236) and 2010 (235,950) national elections. However, the DFA hoped to reach at least one million total overseas voters.

Numbers still low

Binay acknowledged the rise in numbers but still said it was relatively low compared to the number of Filipinos abroad.

According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas’ 2011 Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos, there are around 9,380,816 permanent and temporary Filipinos worldwide combined.

Before the overseas absentee voting registration ended in October last year, there were efforts by Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates to get more registrants by way of availing more mobile services for registration.

Disenfranchised voters

Earlier this month, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) delisted some 200,000 registered voters abroad from the official voters' list for failing to file a manifestation of intent to vote in the May 2013 polls.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said only 29 overseas absentee voters (OAVs) complied with the order to file a manifestation.  

“We told them that if you say your intention to vote then we will activate it. But out of the 200,000 only 29 replied so we are going to proceed with the delisting of the over 200,000,” he added.

Comelec earlier issued Resolution 9567 saying that individuals who failed to participate in two previous elections warrants removal from the list.

“Pursuant to the foregoing, a total of 238,557 OAV who failed to vote during the 2007 and 2010 national elections should now be removed or deleted from the NROAV (National Registry of OAV),” said the resolution dated December 4, 2012. - VVP, GMA News

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