MANILA, 25 July — Leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives have assured overseas Filipinos that a law allowing them to vote in the country’s national elections would be passed on schedule.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and House of Representatives Speaker Jose de Venecia reportedly made the promise in a meeting with advocates of absentee voting.
De Venecia promised that the bill would pass in the lower house by August.
He also promised to work for the creation of a sub-committee on labor dealing exclusively with OFW affairs.
According to Ellene Sana of the advocacy group Kakammpi, Drilon promised that they will not repeal the bill passed in the Senate on June 5, which was a product of consultations conducted by a bicameral committee of Congress with OFW groups worldwide.
The problem with the “passed” bill is that it was voted upon in a rump session held by the Senate opposition after declaring themselves the new majority last June following the defection of Sen. John Osmeña to their side.
Drilon’s bloc was able to regain the majority when Sen. Robert Jaworski switched to their side.
Drilon said they while they won’t repeal what the rump session had passed, the bill had to go through the motions of being passed by the clear majority now reigning in the Senate.
Senate Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was part of the rump session that passed the bill in question, also promised to “do everything not to undo the bill already passed.”
Drilon and de Venecia met with the absentee voting advocates as part of the activities of a conference dubbed “Alliance OFW Summit 2002: Boto Ko Bilangin Nyo!”
Held at the University of Makati, participants of the conference “enacted” an absentee voting law in a symbolic gesture to prod Congress into passing pending bills.
Conference organizer Rachelle Garcia noted that overseas Filipinos comprise an immense and powerful sector that cannot be ignored forever.
“Our intellectual and financial resources will be a major force that can sway the tide of events in the country,” said Garcia, the managing director of OFWNet, one of the groups spearheading the campaign for OFW empowerment.
Also represented in the conference were the Jeddah-based Kapulungan ng mga Samahang Pilipino (Kasapi), the Filipino Migrant Workers (FMW) group, the OFWs Protect, and the Ugnayan ng Pilipinong Manggagawa sa Abroad (UPIMA).
Kasapi representative Bong D. Guro said: “We cannot just stand on the sidelines to gripe and whine about our political and economic woes. We now have to take action. We must assert our political rights and use our clout to redeem and rebuild a Philippines that we can proudly go home to.”
The conference was opened by Commission on Election (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., who assured the participants that the implementation of the bill would take only about 270 days.
Abalos’ predecessor, Eduardo Benipayo, said a lead time of two years was required to be able to implement the bill.
Abalos also said he was willing to enlist the aid of organizations of overseas Filipinos in the absentee voting bill’s implementation.
“These organizations will be tapped by Comelec when the time comes,” Abalos said.
The advocates in attendance proposed the creation of a permanent secretariat to lobby for the passage of an absentee voting measure and Garcia proposed that representations be made with the various OFW groups to raise funds for this secretariat.
Guro, however, disagreed.
“Let us just help each other because some doubts might arise is there are large funds,” he said.
