House bill allowing online voter registration for overseas Pinoys OK’d on 2nd reading --- By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA Integrated News

The House of Representatives has approved a bill allowing online voter registration and expanded voting mechanisms for Filipino overseas voters, on second reading via voice vote. House Bill 10178 or the Overseas Electronic Registration and Voting Act expands the registration and voting methods available to overseas Filipino voters by including online registration and voting through available technology as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) may deem appropriate. “This is to provide greater ease and encourage our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Overseas Filipinos (OFs) to exercise their right of suffrage, with due regard to protecting their privacy and the sanctity of their ballots,” said OFW party-list lawmaker Marissa Magsino, the principal author of the measure. In her sponsorship speech, Magsino said that there tends to be low voter turnout among overseas voters due to considerable physical distance between the overseas voters’ workplaces or residences and the embassies where they can register and cast their vote; as well as the changing work location of Filipino seafarers. “Half the battle is won and I consider this a victory for our overseas voters. We have been fighting for so long for this. We expect our colleagues in the Senate to pass the counterpart bill,” Magsino added. Based on Comelec records, there were at least 1.6 million registered overseas Filipino voters eligible to vote in the 2022 national and local elections. But of this number only 600,000 or 35.5% were able to cast their vote. “The low voter turnout of overseas voters is a case of electoral disenfranchisement, regardless whether of voluntary or involuntary nature. The call for easing the process of registering and casting a vote has been there for quite a while,” she said. The Comelec already said that it is eyeing to implement online voting for overseas Filipinos for the 2025 elections. But last February, the Comelec found the two bidders—Indra Soluciones Technologias de la Information, SLU, and We Are I.T. Philippines, Inc.—ineligible due to incomplete submissions of documentary requirements. Magsino, however, said that the Comelec’s plan to implement internet voting underscores the urgency of the approval of her proposed bill. “The measure will provide a solid statutory basis for the Commission’s current and future undertakings on Internet Voting as well as securing budgetary support for the purpose. Moreover, House Bill 10178 will allow internet voter registration, which the existing law does not provide,” Magsino said. Likewise, Magsino said that her measure will not compromise the integrity of the elections. “I have personally attended demonstrations of technology providers and have observed the rigorous bidding process for the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) for the 2025 elections. We are assured by the Comelec that underlying the OVCS are safeguards, mechanisms and protocols that will guarantee efficiency, security and confidentiality of the voter’s personal information, the integrity of the ballots, auditability of election results, and transparency of the process,” she added. — BM, GMA Integrated News

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