MANILA, 6 May — Opposition senators who mounted a “coup” against the pro-Arroyo majority bloc passed yesterday on third and final reading the bill allowing overseas Filipinos to vote in Philippine national elections.
But Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) groups and allied non-governmental organizations welcomed the development with guarded optimism amid warnings that measure could be questioned in court.
Senate President Franklin Drilon, whom the “new majority” have failed to topple in their Monday “coup,” said in an earlier interview that he would not certify any bill passed by the “new majority.”
The “new majority” continued holding plenary sessions although Senate President Franklin Drilon had declared the chamber adjourned until July 22, the start of the second regular session of the 12th Congress.
Opposition members in the House of Representatives added to the confusion by holding their own plenary session a day after House Speaker Jose de Venecia declared an adjournment in support of Drilon’s move.
Representatives of the various groups lobbying for the passage of the absentee voting measure came in droves to the Senate, lending legitimacy to what administration senators called a “rump session.”
Among the groups represented were Kakammpi (Association of Relatives of Filipino Migrant Workers), eLagda-Manila, eLagda-Riyadh, the OFW Congress of Riyadh, OFWNet, the Commission of Filipinos Overseas (CFO), the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), DAWN and Philippine Migrant Rights Watch (PMRW).
All the 12 senators present, making up exactly half of the upper house, voted in favor of the bill.
A similar action in the House, however, was of question yesterday. It has not even passed the committee level in the House.
After the “rump session” passed the bill, Sen. Edgardo Angara, one of its members, said: “We fulfilled our promise to pass the bill by June 6.”
At the same time, he expressed regret that those members of the administration who had also supported the bill were not around to see its passage.
Angara, who headed the joint congressional committee that conducted consultations with overseas Filipino communities in March and April, was the principal sponsor of the bill.
Apart from Angara, those who supported the measure were Blas Ople, who was named Senate president pro tempore (the No. 2 man) by the “new majority;” Aquilino Pimentel Jr., the majority floorleader ; Vicente Sotto III, Rodolfo Biazon, the Osmeña cousins Sergio and John, Robert Jaworski, Gregorio Honasan, Luisa Ejercito Estrada and Panfilo Lacson.
Commenting on the passed bill, Ellene Sana of Kakammpi said:
“We are happy but our advocacy is for two houses of Congress to pass the bill.”
Party-list Rep. Loretta Ann Rosales also cautioned absentee voting advocates against getting caught in the crossfire. “There is infighting in the Senate. Be careful,” she warned Ellene Sana in a text message.
Another text message from an OFW based in Saudi Arabia said “You are in the middle of a nice constitutional crisis. Congratulations!”
Although the actual votation was via the roll call, Pimentel chose to explain why he was in favor of the bill.
“The right to vote is merely equivalent to the economic power of the OFWs,” Pimentel said. Besides, he added, “Filipinos abroad are no longer ignorant and are aware of what is happening in the country.”
A day before the bill was due to be passed, Noel Esquela of eLagda and Sana got together and said in an e-mail to different OFW groups that “our actions will be viewed from political angles. We will, in effect, be playing into the hand of both sides to this current controversy. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”
“If we have a Senate convening under questionable legal authority, and that Senate passes our AV Bill, then the validity of an otherwise desirable law like ours would, likewise, be highly suspect. Its passage would amount to nothing but symbolism, one that will be used by either side, regardless of how this whole affair ends. Remember that ours is an issue pending in the legislature with an active advocacy, backed with an organized popular local and international support,” Esquela said.
He, however, said if the bill’s legitimacy was indeed questioned, it could be legitimized by the certification of the House president, in this case Drilon, or if a 13th senator goes over to the side of this “new majority,” allowing them to oust Drilon and elect a new Senate president.
Unfortunately, Esquela said “if, in a subsequent settlement, the previous majority succeeds in restoring the status quo and itself, that event per se would effectively invalidate all acts done in the interim. The restored majority may even repudiate all acts done prior to its restoration.”
“We represent organizations that have defined principled limits on our actions, even in support of this bill. Our advocacy for the AV bill carries with it support for any and all solons who are with us. But that support should not be used to prove, nor be taken to mean, we support everything else they represent, nor any actions that serve only their private political ends extraneous to our advocacy,” Sana and Esquela said. “We have to draw the line between ‘advocating a cause by supporting and collaborating with even those whose politics we abhor,’ and ‘supporting and collaborating with those whose politics we abhor for the sake of what we advocate,’” they added.
By way of support, an OFW in Saudi sent an e-mail to Sana and Esquela saying: “We should always be guided by the principles for which our organizations came into existence. The moment we compromise our principles will be the beginning of our end. Stick to your guns and I am with you all the way.”
Among the salient points of the approved:
• All overseas Filipinos who are qualified to vote and have not renounced their Filipino citizenship can vote.
• Immigrants and green card holders can vote.
• The absentee voters can vote for president, vice president, senators and party-list representatives. They can also vote on plebiscites and referendums that cover national issues.
• On-site counting and canvass of votes.
• Relaxed identification requirements for undocumented Filipino workers.
• Strict confidentiality on the information filed by those registering as voters.
• Adequate safeguards shall be provided by the Commission on Elections to ensure the sanctity of the voting process.
• Deputization of non-governmental organizations, individuals and other organizations as election officers after a strict process of accreditation.
• Free diplomatic and consular services shall be rendered in connection with the absentee voting process.
• Longer time shall be given to Filipino seafarers to register and vote.
Angara pointed out that most of the important provisions of the bill were incorporated after the overseas consultations conducted by the bicameral panel of Congress in seven key cities abroad. The prohibition on campaigning in person was scrapped after Lacson questioned this saying “we don’t want overseas voters to vote blindly.”
