ALKHOBAR, 19 July 2003 — Community organizations in Eastern Saudi Arabia said yesterday President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should visit the Kingdom and see for herself how many Filipinos would be disenfranchised in the May 2004 elections because of restrictions in the Philippine Overseas Absentee Voting law.

In an open letter, the organizations grouped under the All Filipino Community and Sports Commission (Afcscom) said they also want the president to find out why Filipinos in the Eastern Region cannot go twice to Riyadh just to register and vote.

“We request that you please visit us in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and see for yourself the concerned, nationalistic and enthusiastic Filipino community who want to exercise their right to vote,” Afcscom asked Arroyo.

Afscom is composed of 58 different civic, cultural, professional, educational, ethnic, and sports organization.

Its overall chairman, Andy Reyes, said the letter the reiterates what have been explained in position papers they have given to Senate President Franklin Drilon, Secretary Heherson Alvarez, Commission on Election officials, and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, during their visits to the Eastern Region.

Community leaders here said all they want is to be allowed to register and vote in Alkhobar through a mobile extension of the Philippine Embassy.

The regional chapter of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), an Afscom member, noted that in the 1990’s OFWs filing their income tax was also done via the Embassy’s consular outreach program called “Embassy on Wheels.”

Only a few embassy personnel were involved but with the assistance of PICPA members, the program had been able to hundreds of thousands of tax information returns and payments.

With this, OFWs in the Eastern Region believe that a Comelec on Wheels will also be possible.

Riyadh is 400 kilometers or more from Alkhobar or Dammam and the rest of the Eastern Region, entailing at least an eight hour round trip by land. “It would be extremely difficult if not impossible for OFWs in the Eastern Province to be absent from their jobs, spend their time, money, and effort to go to Riyadh twice to register and vote,” Reyes said.

The OFWs here pleaded with the president to order the government agencies involved to find a way so as not to deny the 260,000 OFWs in the Eastern Region their right to vote just because of a simple logistical or technical problem.

Registration for absentee voters is to start on Aug. 1 and Afscom said a directive by President Arroyo could probably compel the agencies involved in administering the absentee voting law to act with haste before time runs out.

“Madame President, we still believe in the old saying that ‘If there is a will, there is a way,” said the petition.