RIYADH/ALKHOBAR, 9 May 2004 — Officials and absentee voting advocates yesterday urged Filipinos in the Kingdom who have not yet cast their ballots to do so today, so as not to waste their votes.
Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla said while the three voting centers will still open from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. tomorrow, those who can come today should not waste the opportunity.
“Tomorrow (Monday) might be too late,” added Ricky Piquing, chair of the National Movement on Free Election (Namfrel) chapter in Alkhobar, which is monitoring the election in the Eastern Province.
Commission on Election officials and Namfrel volunteers in Alkhobar were surprised that the expected onrush of voters over the weekend did not materialize.
From the start of more than 4,000 voters in the first week of the election held at the International Philippine School in Alkhobar (IPSA), it went down to a about 3,000 figure in the second week. The third week count was down to 2,500 voters. Only 950 came on Friday — a total of 1,500 voters for the whole week.
A total of 18,000 registrants in Alkhobar had been approved by the Comelec to vote.
In the entire Kingdom, the total number of approved registrants is about 97,000.
Turnout in Riyadh and Jeddah were estimated to have exceeded 50% yesterday.
Piquing said one of the reasons for the low turnout in Alkhobar was the difficulty of traveling from places of work. But he said there were those who were disappointed in not getting their Comelec ID cards, or whose ID cards did not bear their pictures and thumbmarks.
Some registrants may also have been transferred to other places, while some are on vacation in the Philippines.
Labor Attaché Delmer Cruz of Alkhobar said it is a “given’ in Philippine elections that a big percentage of the registered voters do not show up.
“But we are calling for all the registered voters to come out and vote for this is a historic event, and this is what the OFWs have been fighting for — to exercise their right of suffrage,” Cruz said.
Meanwhile, the Akhobar-based PGMA-KSA (President Macapagal Arroyo — Saudi Arabia) movement has expressed optimism that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will win not only in the Kingdom but the presidential race in its entirety.
“Aside from the surveys which show her pulling away from her rivals, the recent endorsement of the Iglesia Ni Cristo and El Shaddai of GMA are enough indications that she will win,” said the movement’s chairman, Buddy Alpuerto.
Besides, he said, Raul Roco is practically out of the race so that the intelligent votes he would have gotten, especially from the youth, will surely be converted to votes for Arroyo. “Moreover, with only few days to go, the opposition is fragmented and is in disarray,” Alpuerto said.
“Moreover, we have personally seen and felt, during our sorties around the Eastern Region, the very warm and enthusiastic support of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for GMA.”
Alpuerto said they had no doubts about supporting Arroyo because she has already shown her genuine concern for overseas Filipinos.
“As a matter of fact, she has already delivered what she calls a ‘down payment’ for a bright future for the country, including overseas Filipinos. Under her administration, the Overseas Absentee Voting law was enacted into law,” he said.
He also cited Arroyo’s instructions to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to increase the death benefits of overseas Filipinos to P200,000 and broaden its scholarship program.
He said Arroyo created the OFW Provident Fund under Social Security System (SSS), and ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to intensify the campaign against illegal recruiters, and directed concerned agencies to fast-track the processing of documents of overseas Filipinos.
“We believe more benefits will be coming for overseas Filipinos if GMA is elected,” Alpuerto said, adding that his group is composed of volunteer professional and community leaders who give unsolicited support to Arroyo to ensure her victory.
Apart from Alpuerto, the PGMA-KSA officials are Sammy Peres, vice chairman, and Andy Reyes, secretary-general.
