JEDDAH, 23 October — With the Absentee Voting Bill likely to be approved before Senate and Congress go on recess later this month, Alyansa has allied itself with the International Coalition on Overseas Filipinos Voting Rights (ICOFVR), to become its major support group in the Western Region.

Alyansa, an alliance of community, civic, professional, and civic organizations in the Western Region, hopes to carry the cudgels for ICOFVR in the area in issues that concern absentee voting.

Primary among these issues are the drafting of the implementing rules plus voter education and awareness on the impending law.

In a resolution sent to ICOFVR convenors in Riyadh, Alyansa said “it believes that success in this endeavor (absentee voting for OFWs) require that overseas Filipinos speak with one voice and act in unison.”

Unless OFWs speak and act as one, the group said, the Commission on Election in Manila which is tasked to draft the implementing rules and other guidelines may not listen to suggestions from abroad on ways to ensure the protection and sanctity of the ballot.

This will include, but will not be limited to being deputized by Comelec in assisting in conducting votes registration, voters education and awareness, casting of votes, and even the canvassing of votes.

“We believe that for us to be heard, we need act in unison. Since ICOFVR is the worldwide umbrella organization that tackled the absentee voting issue from the start, we feel it is strategic to ally with them,” commented Sam delos Santos, president of Alyansa.

ICOFVR acknowledged the support of Alyansa in its campaign for the AVB.

“Organizationally — this will reinforce the structure of ICOFVR in the Western Region (of Saudi Arabia) in terms of the forthcoming Implementing Rules and Regulations (of the AVB),” wrote Rashid Fabricante, one of the conveners of ICOFVR in Riyadh.

Voter education and awareness presents more challenges, considering that many overseas Filipinos are known to be still unaware of the measure that would allow them to exercise their voting rights.

“We are reviewing the AVB Primer produced by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Any changes will be discussed during the next general assembly meeting of Alyansa on Nov. 1,” said Francis Oca, chairman of the committee on advocacies and external ties of Alyansa.

Oca further said that after the general assembly approves the primer, it will be translated into Tagalog so that OFWs can choose what edition they want.

Alyansa will then distribute copies of the primer to OFWs throughout the region through the organizations allied to it, the same network Alyansa is using in its ongoing database project.

OFWs will find the primer an informative reading. It does not, in any way, dictate to the voter whom to vote. Rather it is similar to a set of FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) that Internet users are familiar with.

Much has been done with the campaign for OFWs to vote, and much, much more effort will be need to implement it when the bill is finally passed. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel... we only have to strengthen the existing movement headed by ICOFVR,” said Jibreel de Vera, secretary-general of Alyansa.

Alyansa hopes to expand its membership to include all community organizations in various parts of the region.