Overseas voter registration breaches 1M mark

For the first time in 11 years, more than one million Filipinos abroad have registered to vote in the 2016 elections, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.
 
In a statement, the DFA's Overseas Voting Secretariat said this was the first time the one-million mark was breached in the 11-year electoral history of overseas voting.
 
“At the current pace of registration, we could have an overseas voter stock of over two million for the 2016 presidential elections. Attaining this goal can definitely be a game changer,” said DFA Undersecretary for Civil Security and Consular Concerns and DFA-OVS chairman Rafael Seguis.
 
For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the preparations of the DFA and Commission on Elections "led to a successful start for the registration process."
 
Del Rosario said the challenge for overseas voter registration "is to maintain the momentum by keeping the overseas Filipinos interested and engaged in this democratic process.”
 
The DFA-OVS teamed up with the Comelec to work for one million new overseas Filipino voter registrants for the registration period from May 6, 2014 to October 31, 2015.

The top 10 foreign service posts in terms of overseas voting registration in June included:
 
  • Dubai (2,216)
  • Toronto (1,373)
  • San Francisco (1,299)
  • Abu Dhabi (1,161)
  • Kuwait (1,031)
  • Los Angeles (989)
  • Jeddah (941)
  • New York (847)
  • Singapore (787)
  • Milan (764).
 
20k new OVR applications
 
In June, the second month of OVR, the DFA said the country's foreign service posts processed 20,039 new OVR applications.
 
This was a 7.5-percent increase from the record-breaking performance of 18,631 last May, and brought the two-month total to 38,670.
 
When added to the present overseas voter stock of 975,263, there are now 1,013,933 registered overseas voters, the DFA said.
 
Last June, the first Overseas Voter Registration Center (OVRC) in the Philippines for the 2016 elections opened at the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA), Macapagal Avenue, ASEANA Business Park.
 
This allowed overseas Filipino workers, immigrants, and seafarers about to leave for abroad, and who are not yet registered as overseas voters, to register there.
 
"In addition, these registrants no longer have to set an appointment to apply for renewal of passport. Their OVR stub will allow them access to the Passport Division’s Courtesy Lane," the DFA said.
 
Aging registration equipment
 
However, the DFA said one of the challenges confronting the FSPs is aging - and malfunctioning - voter registration equipment.
 
"DFA-OVS is closely coordinating with the COMELEC on how to address the situation. Both the Secretariat and the Commission are confident that a solution is at hand, despite the meager resources available to the COMELEC for overseas voter activities since it is not an election year," the DFA said.
 
Filipino citizens who expect to be abroad during the 30-day overseas voting period between April 9 and May 9, 2016 and are at least 18 years old on May 9, 2016, and not otherwise disqualified by law, may register as an overseas voter.
 
They can do so at all Philippine FSPs including the three Manila Economic and Cultural Offices (MECO), Office of Consular Affairs, Macapagal Ave., ASEANA Business Park, and at other COMELEC approved registration centers within or outside the Philippines.
 
An updated list of registration centers may be viewed on www.dfa-oavs.gov.ph orwww.comelec.gov.ph. — Joel Locsin/RSJ, GMA News

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