Sharing common hopes of a progressive country, more migrant Filipinos abroad are expressing their interests in participating in the coming 2013 elections. Although enthusiastic about casting their votes, Filipinos overseas believe that there are changes that still need to be done especially in the existing Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 (RA 9189 .
With only a few weeks remaining until the registration of absentee voters is over, different advocate groups are urging the Senate for the immediate approval of the proposed amendments on the absentee voting law. Ellene Sana, the executive director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy said that approving the necessary amendments will further empower the voting Filipinos abroad.
Passed by the House of Representatives, the amended OAV bill or the House Bill 3966 seeks to abolish Section 5 (d) which requires Filipino immigrants and permanent residents to execute an affidavit of intent to return and establish permanent physical residence in the Philippines.
The bill also authorizes the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to explore and adopt more efficient modes of registration and voting, including online system without doing away with postal voting and personal appearance in designated voting centers.
With the support of Senator Franklin Drilon and Francisco Pangilinan, Sana urged other senators to do the same as soon as possible.
In a statement, Sen. Drilon cited how the Commission of Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) have failed to increase awareness of the importance of the RA 9189. Drilon further noted the election turn-out amongst migrant Filipinos last year wherein only 153, 323 actually voted out of the 589,830 voters who were registered.
Drilon frowned upon the Comelec for allotting P21million just for honoraria of the personnel who will supervise the OAV program. The total estimated budget for the OAV is P205.98million according to the Comelec. Believing that it is Juan dela Cruz who should be reaping the benefits of his own money, the senator stressed the need to properly allocate funds where it is most needed so there will be better implementation of the law.
Considering how these migrant Filipino workers were among the factors why the local economy thrived despite the global economic meltdown, allotting budget for them should not be questioned.
When it comes to dealing with voters abroad, the most important thing to consider is how eager these voters are to influence change in their country. Overseas Filipino workers should be given adequate attention because they tend to vote according to the accomplishments of a candidate and not because of political influence. To say that Filipinos abroad did not care enough to vote is unfair; they would not bother amending the existing OAV if they do not intend to vote anyway. Laws are made for the people, and if these laws do not comply with the lifestyle of which it was made for, then changes should really be considered.
(AJPress)
