OFWs express mixed reactions on newly elected leaders


By LUCKY MAE F. QUILAO
After the winners in the May 2019 midterm polls were declared, some overseas Filipino workers expressed mixed reactions on the new set of leaders, especially the new senators and party-list representatives. 
“I am not in favor of the outcome of the recent elections; none of the 12 senators and the party-list that I voted for won. It’s heartbreaking that no matter how passionate you are in exercising your right to suffrage, sometimes, you will feel cheated, you will feel disappointed,” Rodemel Mar Maceda, 31, clinical auditor at Care National Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said in an email last May 23.
Maceda was among the OFWs that GMA News interviewed online last January 24  who still consider voting through the overseas absentee voting (OAV) system amid inconveniences and doubts.
He voted in Riyadh but was unable to check on the list of winners in his precinct because he had to  fly back to the Philippines the day after casting his ballot.
“I will still vote through OAV in the next polls. I am still positive that everything will get better,” he added.
A 37-year-old maintenance staff in Rome, Italy, on the other hand, said he gives his full trust to the senators and party-list representatives he voted for.
“Dun sa mga nanalong kandidatong na ibinoto ko ay syempre 100% support ang maaasahan nila,” the OFW who wanted to be identified only as "Fabio" said.
“Boboto pa rin naman ako sa susunod na OAV. Hopefully, iba na ang way at hindi [na] Smartmatic,” he added, referring to the Venezuelan-owned multinational tech company contracted to handle the automated election system.
Bong Sudario, 52, technical instructor at the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain, meanwhile, would not just rely on the government anymore.
“Definitely, there are some corrupt senators that were elected last May 13. Bakit ko naman paniniwalaan iyong mga magnanakaw?” —LBG, GMA News

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