RIYADH, 19 January 2004 — A delegation from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) held a three-day seminar which ended last Thursday at a local hotel here in connection with the overseas absentee voting (OAV) among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom scheduled from April 11 to May 10.
Comelec Executive Director Mamasapudon Aguam headed the delegation, which is expected to conduct the same seminar in other countries where there is great concentration of OFWs.
“It’s good that the Comelec sent a team to conduct the seminar. It’s part of the fulfillment of a dream which OFWs have nurtured over the years,” said a participant.
On the first day of the seminar on Tuesday, the basic functions of special boards — Special Board of Election Inspectors for Saudi Arabia (SBEISA) and the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) — were discussed. Election guides along with election rules and regulations were also taken up.
Ambassador Bahnarim A. Guinomla led embassy staff on the opening day of the seminar. Officials from the Consulate General in Jeddah and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh and Jeddah also attended.
The seminar covered topics on the general conduct for voting and counting of the votes cast. Those who have attended the seminars will in turn teach and guide deputized Filipino community leaders in conducting the voting and counting procedures.
It would be the first time that OFWs will participate in a general election away from their home country. They will, however, be voting only for national elective posts — president, vice president, senators, and party-list representatives (congressmen).
While OFWs worldwide will have one month to select and vote into office from among the candidates, Filipinos back home will have only one day to cast their votes and that is on May 10.
“We are nearer toward the realization of an aspiration among OFWs, which is to participate in selecting public officials. For many, many years this remained merely a distant dream. I hope that OFWs will vote wisely, preferring competence to popularity,” said a Filipino community leader.
He was obviously referring to the fact that movie actors have decided to stand in the forthcoming polls. Popular movie actor Fernando Poe, Jr., called the “King of Philippine Movies”, has accepted his nomination as the candidate of the opposition for president. News reader and Sen. Noli de Castro is also running for vice president. So is Sen. Loren Legarda, formerly an ABS-CBN broadcast journalist.
