ALKHOBAR/JEDDAH, 13 May 2007 — Philippine officials in charge of overseas absentee voting in the Kingdom yesterday noted a surge in the number of votes cast during the weekend, but said the total would not likely reach even a third of the 2004 figures.

At the close of voting last Friday, only 6,823 cast their ballots in Riyadh, 4,406 in Jeddah, and 3,301 in Alkhobar, or a total of 14,530. The figure is only 11 percent out of the total registered voters of 127,945 in the Kingdom and way below the 60,000 or so ballots cast in 2004.

No significant increase is expected as the month-long voting in the Kingdom ends tomorrow at 10 a.m., which corresponds to 3 p.m. Manila time when poll precincts in the Philippines close.

Consul General Nestor Padalhin, in a bid to prod those who have not yet voted, recalled yesterday that when the Philippine government was collecting income tax from Filipino overseas workers, workers complained that they were being taxed without getting any proper representation.

He said it was sad to note that while the government not only scrapped the tax but also allowed overseas absentee voting, there is general lack of interest in the current election by OFWs worldwide.

“The Philippine government had answered your clamor by giving you the opportunity to participate and vote for the leaders of our country. You should not waste this opportunity. It is now your duty to shape the future of our country by casting your votes,” Padalhin said.

A number of reasons were suggested by community leaders, particularly in the Eastern Region, on why the turnout of voters were low in this midterm election.

Sammy Perez of ROFWA in Ras Tanura said a mobility was a major factor. “Many absentee voters may be located in remote areas where construction and development are taking place,” he said.

Ador Tañedo of Filcom Jubail said that lack of information about the senatorial candidates and their respective platform, did not win the interest of the OFWs to vote. “There was neither candidate nor their representative who came here to at least campaign or promote their objectives,” Tanedo said.

During the presidential elections in 2004, community leaders were visible in campaigning for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Panfilo Lacson, Fernando Poe Jr., spiritual leader Villanueva, and even the late Sen. Raul Roco, even though he had effectively pulled out of the race due to severe illness.

“That is the main problem. There is no money in this election. It is a sad fact that Filipinos won’t spend any money for the sake of a candidate,” said Jack Curilan of CISTA Dammam. But he also noted that many politicians who win forget the small ones who contribute to their victory.

According to some community leaders who were engaged in the 2004 presidential campaign, they were promised by politicians for some funds and projects for their community activities in the Kingdom. All those promises were not given, be it by the administration or the opposition candidates, they said.

A leader, who asked not to be named, told Arab News that he and his colleagues helped finance the campaign of one politician with a promise by organizers that their money would be returned.

Evelyn Pelo-Santos, a former leader of the Bag-ong Bicol Saro nin Jeddah, said the general reaction she got when she encouraged fellow Filipinos to go out and vote was that they didn’t want to waste their votes.

“Most of them say they have lost their faith in Philippine elections because of rampant dayaan (cheating),” she said, citing charges that Arroyo won by rigging the ballot in 2004 with the help of some Commission on Election officials and the military and police.

Arroyo was caught on tape calling then Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano while the counting was going on in the southern Philippines. She later apologized for the “lapse in judgment” but refused to admit that she cheated.

Alex Veloso Bello of the OFW Congress in Riyadh agreed that there’s “a general feeling of distrust on our government’s ability to make this election clean.”

He said his group had asked community members and the common answer was that it was an exercise in futility since the votes won’t be counted properly (“dadayain lang naman”), there will be no reforms (“wala namang pagbabago”), nothing good will come out of it (“walang mangyari”), or it will be the same rotten system (“pareho parin ang systema”).

Still Hopeful

Despite the general feeling of helplessness as a result of the low turnout, there were those who refused to give up.

Community leaders Atoy Esguerra and Marina Ortiz helped arrange the transportation of the female staff of Erfan Hospital in Jeddah to vote during the weekend.

Others also came in groups, some of them still wearing their uniforms, having gone straight from work to the voting centers at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, the consulate in Jeddah, or the International Philippine School in Alkhobar.

Bong Amora and fellow members of the group Kakampi continued to campaign among registered voters in Riyadh and nearby places to get out and vote.

Faisal Mercurio and his colleagues in the Black Python Martial Arts Association not only have been campaigning for voters in the Industrial Ara in Riyadh to participate but also served as marshals at the embassy.

Other OFWs have volunteered to guard the ballots by enlisting with the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel). There were at least 49 volunteers headed by Fred Castolome in Jeddah to help watch the counting of ballots.

Complaints

While voters said the voting process was generally smooth, some complained that the names were being manually located the voter’s list, while in 2004 all precincts used computers.

“Hello!!! We are now in the computer age. I think the government doesn’t really care about us OFWs as a whole,” said Fernando Crisosto of Al Khafji.

A number of OFWs were upset to find their names missing in the list of voters at the consulate in Jeddah.

“It’s a waste of time and effort,” said one man, who claimed to have registered in late 2005 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

Cris Cordero, a native of San Juan in Metro Manila, said some voters complained of the lack of government support for their transportation needs, considering the far distance they have to travel from Yanbu to Jeddah.

Some voters who came from Abha said the consulate should have conducted out-of-town voting to make it easier for those who are away from Jeddah.

Rose Justiniano, the action officer for election in Jeddah, explained that the government can not do anything because the host country allowed the voting inside the consulate in Jeddah, the embassy in Riyadh, or IPSA in Alkhobar.

As for providing transportation for voters, Justiniano said the consulate cannot provide that because it would be misconstrued as an act of vote-buying, a violation of the election law.