JEDDAH, 15 March — With a significant majority of the members of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives saying that a law allowing overseas Filipinos to vote in Philippine national elections is long overdue, hopes are high that the measure would soon be enacted in time for the 2004 national elections.
The question that has to be answered now is how the election will be conducted abroad: by mail, by onsite voting, or via the Internet?
And how will the counting be done? Will it manual counting or electronic counting?
Representatives of the Filipino community in the Kingdom will have their chance to air their views today at a public hearing at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh.
The hearing will start at 2 p.m. at the embassy’s Multi-Purpose Hall, with more than a hundred OFW representatives invited to attend, according to Ambassador Rafael Seguis. On hand to conduct the consultation are members of a joint Senate-House committee, who arrived last night.
The delegation is led by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments Revision of Codes and Laws.
With him are Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr.,Vicente Sotto III, John Henry Renner Osmena, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, and Panfilo Lacson; Reps. Augusto Syjuco (Iloilo) and Bella Angara Castillo (Aurora); Chairman Alfredo Benipayo of the Commission on Election; and others.
The Senate bill being deliberated upon will cover not only OFWs but also immigrants and US green card holders — those who have not given up their Philippine citizenship or taken up other citizenship.
A House bill sponsored by Angara’s sister, Rep. Bella Angara-Castillo, contains a similar provision.
News reports from Manila say this provision had been one of the most contentious during committee deliberations, with those in favor arguing that immigrants are part of the estimated 7 million Filipinos abroad who are contributing a lot to the Philippine economy by regularly remitting their dollar earnings.
Those considered as immigrants are largely in the United States, Canada and Australia. OFWs, or the contract workers, are mostly in the Middle East, Europe and neighboring Asian countries, with Saudi Arabia hosting some 300,000, based on the Saudi government’s count.
Last year, the total remittance of overseas Filipinos totaled $6.1 billion, according to the Bangko Sental ng Pilipinas. The figure covers only those sent through banks. The unofficial estimate is double the BSP figure if the money brought home personally by overseas Filipinos, or sent through friends and underground door-to-door services, are included.
Under the proposed legislation, overseas Filipinos will be allowed to vote only in the election of president, vice president, senator and party-list representative.
Registration are to be done directly at embassies and consulates or by mail, with the Comelec processing the applications.
The Senate version says the counting and canvass of votes shall be done at the Comelec offices in Manila, except for a few pilot areas.
The House version wants these to be done at both the Comelec and Philippine embassies and consulates.
Legislators have stressed the importance of choosing the best way of voting and counting and safeguarding the ballot to prevent poll cheats from making a mockery of overseas Filipino votes.
The notion that whoever is in the administration could manipulate the votes was the very argument raised by former Sen. Miriam Santiago in single-handedly denying OFWs their right to suffrage.
In today’s hearing, OFW representatives are expected to present their comments and proposals, which will be used as basis by Congress members in making their decision on which options to adopt.
The Riyadh hearing follows the consultation held by the same delegation yesterday at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Bur Dubai, which OFW representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar attended.
On March 21 another hearing will be held in Rome. OFWs from nearby European countries have been invited.
The next one will be in New York on April 1 and Los Angeles on April 3, with Filipino community representatives in Canada and Mexico expected to attend.
Last month, the joint committee held public consultations with OFWs in Hong Kong and Tokyo.