MANILA, 2 June — Expatriate Filipinos have started chipping in for a fund to help push the campaign for immediate passage of the proposed absentee voting law.
The amount being gathered will be used to put up advertisements in Manila newspapers early next week in a bid to get Congress to act on the measure before it goes into recess on June 6, said the nongovernmental organization Kakammppi.
“(It’s) a last ditch attempt to grab lawmakers by the ears and shake them to their senses,” said Kakammppi (Association of Filipino Migrant Workers and Families) in a call to action.
Spearheading the fund-raising campaign abroad are the Global Alliance for the Empowerment of Overseas Filipinos (Empower), Platform of Filipino Migrant Organizations in Europe, OFWNet, Inc. and eLagda.
Marvin Bionat, the head of the US-based Empower, said they are worried because of statements made by some Philippine legislators that the bill will not pass this session which ends June 6.
“The reason? Officially, vague fears related to implementation the same lame excuse for not passing the constitutionally mandated legislation in the last 15 years!” Bionat said.
Manila’s absentee voting advocates who regularly attend sessions in the Senate and House of Representatives said the passage of the measure is problematic “because the House cannot convene a quorum and politicians in the lower house are acting like petulant, warring kids.”
Efforts in Manila are being coordinated by Ellene Sana of Kakammppi and Noel Esquela of eLagda, both veterans in advocacy campaigns. Esquela himself will do the layout of the advertisement, the text of which will come from Bionat and the other OFWs abroad.
In response to the Kakammppi’s call, various organizations and individuals have started chipping in.
Among the groups that have contributed or made pledges so far are the Saudi groups OFW Congress, Mother, Health, and Inter-Hospital Sports Team Tournaments (Hostt), eLagda-Riyadh, OFW Investors Society (c/o Romie Cahucom), Riyadh NaRS c/o Amie Silo, Katipunan ng mga Mangdarayuhang Manggagawang Pilipino c/o Bert Cunanan (KMMP), Al Khobar Mother and Health chapters,
Also contributing were Platform (c/o Nonoi Hacbang), the Philippine Solidarity Group Netherlands (FGN), OFWNet Foundation, Kakammpi (Manila), Tita Ophie from Singapore, Daphne Ceniza Kuok and Ricky Sardiosa from Hong Kong, Armand Oliveros, Gil Ramos, DCR and Marvin Bionat from the United States, Freda Contreras from Kuwait, Ceasar Torres (US), Winda/Moonglow (Canada), (Hong Kong), and Me Ann Pineda (Manila).
A major contributor was Mike Bolos of eLagda Riyadh, along with fellow community leaders Alfred Ganapin, Bert Barriga, Ronnie Abeto, Francisco Sigaya Jr, and some media members.
“In about 48 hours, we raised close to 156,000 pesos,” said Marvin Bionat, who explained that the amount still did not include a pledge by one of the individual contributors to match half the cost of a one-page newspaper advertisement.
In addition to this advertisement, Kakammpi has also suggested a cell phone brigade so that OFWs abroad can call their local representatives through the cell phones of the Manila-based AVB advocates plus attendance during the remaining sessions.
Tony Ranque of Alkhobar has suggested that other OFWs who have access to computers to use the promotional free e-mail service offered by the Manila-based company PT&T through its e-Sulat project and flood Congress with petitions.
The service can be availed off by logging on to www.esulat.com and registering, or by sending an e-mail to Ranque at [email protected] to get instructions on how to log in and to get a copy of the petition prepared by OFW groups in the United States.
Meanwhile, Jun Aguilar, a former OFW and local absentee voting advocate, said they met with House Speaker Jose de Venecia Wednesday night and relayed the clear message from OFWs that they were “anxiously waiting for the bill’s passage.”
With Aguilar were about 20 OFWs, former Sectoral Representative Isidro Aligada and de Venecia’s chief of staff Tim Adasa. De Venecia promised to do all he could.
During the Ramos presidency, the House under de Venecia did pass its version of the absentee voting measure but similar proposals in the Senate were effectively killed in the committee level by Senators Miriam Santiago and Juan Ponce Enrile on fears that whoever sits in power would use OFW votes to cheat during elections.
The version approved by the present Senate in the committee level hopes to address such fears by providing for the holding of overseas elections “onsite,” or in the countries where overseas Filipinos are. It also provides for the counting of ballots “onsite,” with accredited OFW groups appointed as watchdogs.
Many of the important features of the bill being deliberated upon in the Senate were reportedly suggested by OFW groups.
Last March and April, a joint committee of the Senate and House, chaired by Sen. Edgardo Angara, conducted consultations among OFWs abroad. Hearings were held in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai, Riyadh, Rome, and in key cities of Canada and the United States.
