Absentee voting suspended in Damascus, Tripoli, Baghdad; good to go in other posts

Published April 12, 2019 3:52pm 

By TINA PANGANIBAN-PEREZ, GMA News

The Commission on Elections has suspended overseas absentee voting in three posts because of prevailing local conditions.
Comelec spokesperson Director James Jimenez identified the three places as Damascus in Syria, Tripoli in Libya and Baghdad in Iraq.
"Ang resetting naman is kapag wala na yung problema. Eh, hindi naman kaagad-agad nawawala yung problema," Jimenez said as regards when the absentee voting would push through in the said embassies.
"Ang usual rule of thumb natin diyan is 60 days or when the reason for the suspension has ceased," he added.
There are a total of 83 foreign posts where overseas absentee voting will be held starting on Saturday, April 13 until election day on May 13. 
“We are ready to go,” Jimenez said. 
At least 1.8 million registered Filipino voters working or living abroad are expected to cast their ballots during the 30-day window.
"Masasabi ko na handang-handa na po ang Comelec, especially ang Office for Overseas Voting para sa botohan na maguumpisa na nga po bukas," Director Elaiza David from the department told GMA News' Balitanghali.
While she declared that all overseas polling posts were ready, David admitted they may still encounter a few "challenges" to the overseas voting system, including the possible delay in the delivery of some ballots to voters.
"Kasi alam natin 'yan na ang mga balota po ng mga kababayan natin ay dide-deliver pa lang po sa kanila 'yan or may nagsisimula na po, so 'yung maari baka hindi po nila matanggap on time or hindi rin nila, or baka may possibility po na magkaroon nga ng delay," she said.
"Sa ibang mga deliveries naman, ang masasabi namin ay na-deliver na po namin ang lahat ng machines ng balota at ibang election paraphernalia na kakailanganin nila," she added.
She also said the turnout can always be smaller than expected as some registered overseas Filipino voters will not be able to cast their ballots.
"Marami po sa kanila ay hindi pa siguro well-informed kaya isa po yan kung bakit maaaring hindi masyadong mataas (ang turnout), maaring isa sa mga challenges 'yan," David said.
"Meron din po sa kanila na may mga amo daw po sila na hindi sila pinapayagang bumoto yung iba naman po, medyo malayo ang kanilang residence sa post or sa mga embahada kung saan sila dapat bumoto," she added. —NB, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more