MANILA, 22 August — “Many expatriate Filipinos are willing safeguard their votes with their lives.”
With this statement, a coalition of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) has urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow Philippine citizens living abroad to exercise their right to vote in the country’s national elections.
In a dialogue with Comelec officials, the coalition said the continued dilly-dallying by Congress in enacting a law allowing OFWs and other non-resident Filipinos to vote should be put to an end.
“This denial of suffrage is no longer acceptable. We are determined to claim our political enfranchisement and to be treated as Filipino citizens,” said Nonoi Hacbang, convenor of the Platform of Filipino Migrant Organizations in Europe (Platform).
In an interview with Arab News, Hacbang said the OFW representatives told Comelec Chairman Alfredo Benipayo and Commissioner Rex Borra that more than seven million Filipinos working abroad expect to cast their votes in the 2004 national elections.
The Netherlands-based Hacbang arrived in Manila last week to spearhead the Overseas Filipinos’ Advocacy Visit to the Philippines 2001, along with Massachusetts-based Marvin Bionat of Global Coalition for the Empowerment of Overseas Filipinos (Empower), Vicente Romano III of eLagda, and Fe Nicodemus, Chairman of the Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak ng Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino (Kakammpi).
“Every Filipino, wherever located, deserves a say in the choice of leadership and in the shaping of national policy,” said Romano in a separate interview.
Bionat, for his part, explained that OFWs should be given the right to vote because “clearly we have a large overseas Filipino community showing active interest in the country’s welfare.”
Hacbang said fears raised by some politicians that OFW ballots are vulnerable to manipulation by whoever is in the administration are unfounded.
Many overseas Filipinos are willing to help safeguard the integrity of the absentee voting process, from the registration voters to the counting of ballots, the coalition said.
“This is no longer just the job of the government. We are willing to do it in partnership with them,” Hacbang told the Comelec officials.
The OFW leaders, some of whom are based in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Hongkong, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States, are scheduled to meet with Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia III today to drum up support for the enactment of the absentee voting law.
“What we want is a firm commitment from our legislators that the absentee voting law will be implemented before the 2004 elections,” said Hacbang.
The group were invited by Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to Malaca?ang Palace for a breakfast meeting with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo last Monday.
But the president was not able to discuss anything substantial with the group as she was too busy preparing for the arrival of Indonesian President Megawatti Soekarnoputri, reports said.
