As many as 238,557 overseas absentee voters (OAVs) failed to vote in elections, according to the Philippines Commission on Election records. It has asked them to submit a manifestation of intent to vote in the 2013 National Elections.
The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh issued an advisory to OAVs who failed to vote twice during the National Elections in 2007 and 2010. Otherwise their names would be removed from the Philippine national registry of overseas absentee voters (NROAV). The deadline for submission was on Dec. 21.
Filipino Bart Penaranda from Riyadh said he found this decision very sad. “Regardless of that statistics, it is still the inherent right of all overseas Filipino workers to practice their right of suffrage. We should not be denied this right under any circumstances ... We are Filipinos!”
Sandy Nantes said overseas Filipino workers (OFW’s) don’t always control their own time. “We wish to vote, but when we have projects that need to be finished on that day or an emergency job comes up, we will fail to vote. Now our names will be removed from the list of voters,” Nantes said. “That would not sound good,” he observed.
Absentee Filipino voters removed from registry
