ALKHOBAR, 20 October — With the prospect of overseas Filipinos being allowed to vote in 2004 now getting brighter, an umbrella organization in the Eastern Region is urging community groups in the Kingdom to rally behind one banner to win seats in the Philippine House of Representatives.

The OFW Congress of Eastern Province (OFWC-EP) said it is not enough that overseas Filipinos would just cast their vote; they should also elect “true representatives” who would fight for the concerns of OFWs in Congress.

“We don’t want an OFW representative being handpicked by traditional politicians or endorsed by a few organizations. We need an OFW representatives coming from our ranks who are carefully screened by all of us and have the full support of all OFW groups to ensure our proper representation in the Philippine Congress,” OFWC-EP’s new president Isabelo Hugo said on Friday.

Hugo laid out his leadership’s objectives in a speech during their induction ceremonies at the Park Hotel here in Alkhobar on Friday.

Hugo took over the reins from past president Joe Avanceña during the ceremonies graced by Assistant Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre.

Should the proposed absentee voting measure be signed into law this year as promised by Congress, overseas Filipinos would be allowed to vote in the countries where they are working for the Philippine president, vice president, senators and party-list representatives in the House of Representatives.

Depending on the votes garnered, a group could win up to three seats out of the 52 or so party-list seats in the House. The leftist Bayan Muna was able to do this during the May 2001 elections by garnering about 1.3 million votes.

According to the computation of some OFW pundits, assuming that half of the estimated 900,000 Filipino workers in the Kingdom cast their votes for one OFW party, that could easily translate to at least one seats in Congress.

As estimated by senators pushing for the Absentee Voting Bill, notably Edgardo Angara and Aquilino Pimentel Jr., of the 7 million or so Filipinos living or working abroad, about 3 or 4 million may be qualified to vote.

Hugo of OFW Congress said, however, that computing is the easier part to get at least a majority of OFWs to participate in any forthcoming election and to vote as one is the most important and difficult part of the equation.

Hugo’s objectives were strongly endorsed by dela Torre, who challenged the OFWC-EP and the All Filipino Community and Sports Commission (Afcscom) to lead the way by joining forces at least when it comes to key OFW issues.

“I personally support any move both from OFWCC and AFCSCOM toward the unification of your ranks to have a harmonious implementation of your projects and programs for the welfare of the Filipino workers,” dela Torre said.

Last month, the OFWC-EP signed a memorandum of cooperation with the OFW Congress of Riyadh and the Kasapi Congress of Jeddah, both of which are also struggling to unify with other groups in their areas. They have so far been successful in the absentee voting issue, although observers said much work has to be done to move the unification effort to a higher level.

Hugo told Arab News that OFWC-EP will tie-up with the Gabay OFW, a group already accredited by the Commission on Election, to assist in the canvassing of OFW votes once the absentee voting is passed into law.

Aside from its continuous programs on reintegration, assistance for distressed workers, seminars on savings and investments, and entrepreneurship, the OFWC-EP will play its lead role in the advocacy of the absentee voting to all the Filipino workers in the Eastern Region, he said.

Apart from Hugo, the other officials of the OFWC-EP are: Richard Joseph, executive vice president; Rey Barraca, VP for political affairs; Rodolfo Gumba, Vp for economic affairs; Rolando Tuazara, vp for welfare affairs; Ernesto Mapano, Vp for strategic planning and effective governance; Francisco delos Santos, secretary-general; and Romeo Novelles, comptroller general.

The directors general elected are: Peter Marfa for external affairs, Alejandro Mones for community relations, Manuel Llanes for membership, Noel Soriano for sports, Eliazar Besa for education, Raul Gonzales for youth, Noli Tupas for information, Mary Jane Tupas for health, Faisal Sarque for religious affairs, Victoria Nava for women, Gregg Nuñez for culture and entertainment, Resty Villegas for legal affairs, Armando Escuadro for social welfare, Romulo Odsinada for emergency assistance, Elias Bonite for government relations, Jovencio Fauste for outreach program, and Ricardo Casino for reintegration affairs.

Named assistant directors general were John Mendiola for legal affairs, Carmelo Ayunon for community relations, Eduardo Nava for welfare affairs, Edgar Verginisa and Francisco Gascon for sports, and Leonard Lacson for women.

The advisory council is composed of Jose Avanceña, Edilberto Garcia, Ruben Ramos and Marilou Aquino.