Is the Philippine government silencing the voices of the overseas absentee voters?
FILIPINOS who are now working, are permanent residents in the U.S., or even dual citizens have been taking a more active role in participating in civic and democratic processes in the Philippines, never abandoning our love and concern for the Motherland, especially when we still have families back home.
We Filipinos in America work hard and save money to be able to help our families in need in the Philippines through our remittances, and we want to make sure our sacrifices do not go in vain by making the Philippine government accountable despite the distance, and for those who are dual citizens, to make sure we exercise our right to vote for candidates we believe will help steer the country in the right direction.
This is especially true in this year’s midterm elections in the Philippines on May 13, when many kababayans here in America have increasingly been alarmed by news back home.
There are Filipinos in America who do not support the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, and are worried that the principles of checks and balances, and accountability, are not as strong as they should be in a democracy like the Philippines.
Many Fil-Ams are surprised to see how familiar names, known not only for their celebrity status, but for their involvement in crimes and transgressions against the country, abusing and violating public trust, are accorded to their positions of power and are still able to run for public office, and worse, still dominate in the polls.
While Filipinos from all over the world eligible to vote have their own reasons in making their choices in this election, Filipinos in America want to have their voices heard, but are worried the way the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) process has been rolled out leading up to May 13.
As of press time, with less than 10 days to go before the elections, many Filipinos in different jurisdictions in America continue to ask: WHERE ARE OUR BALLOTS?
The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” (BA) has been following this story and have interviewed our Consular officials in different jurisdictions. They have been committed to urging Filipinos in America to vote, have been sharing information about the voting process. However, they can only do so much if the logistics required would be coming from the Philippine government in the homeland.
While the target time to mail out all ballots was on April 13, BA reported that “only 50 percent of postage funding from the Philippine Commission on Elections, or COMELEC, were admitted to the Philippine embassies and consulates in North America. Officials have only started mailing out about a quarter of the ballot packets on April 22, 9 days after the overseas voting period has already started.”
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez told “Balitang America” he is concerned that there may not be enough time to mail out the ballots to the voters. And as BA Correspondent Don Tagala reported, “for the voters to mail their completed ballots back and still make it to the May 13, 6:00 a.m. absolute deadline for their votes to be counted.”
“If they can personally claim this ballots at their nearest Consulate that they registered, we can process it and again, even if it’s beyond the deadline, we can ask the COMELEC, and be able to explain to them na, why there was a delay, and I‘m sure the Commission on Elections [is] aware of exactly what the problems are,” Romualdez said.
According to the BA report, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said they have authorized the foreign service posts to advance the cost of the remaining postage fees in order bridge the funding gap while awaiting the remittance from COMELEC.
The DFA advised voters to contact the embassy or the consulate where they are registered to pick up your ballots, if possible. The DFA further added that embassies and consulates will open its doors during weekends and holidays for the rest of the voting period to accommodate more voters.
BA reported that the members of the U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance and the Filipino American Human Rights Alliance are leading protests in front of the Philippine Consulates in San Francisco and Los Angeles at noon on Monday, May 6, demanding to know where the 100,000 ballots are which should have been mailed out on April 13. The groups have been circulating online videos to encourage Filipinos in other areas who have not received their ballots b to hold their own protests in their regions.
Calls to extend OFW voting in the U.S. have reached Comelec, its Spokesperson James Jimenez said, “that will have to be taken up by the en bang under the law and the Ambassador Romualdez would have to write a formal request for Comelec’s consideration”.
However, on Friday, May 3, the Philippine Embassy told BA’s Correspondent Don Tagala in a text message sent by Consul Darell Artates that there will be NO EXTENSION. Absolute deadline is May 13 at 6:00 AM.
“As the funds for mailing had been received and ballots had been mailed out to voters, all is set for the counting and canvassing of votes as scheduled,” Artates said.
Ambassador Romuladez issued a statement late Friday urging registered overseas Filipino voters to exercise their right to vote and make their vote count. It is our right and duty as Filipino citizens. Let us all take part ins shaping the future of our nation.”
“All of us are committed to ensuring that our elections are free, fair and credible,” Romualdez said. “The Embassy and Consulates General, he said, are open daily, including weekends and holidays, for the purposes of the May 2019 elections.”
WHAT IS GOING ON? Why all these delays which could have been prevented if DFA acted in a timely manner and gave importance to the OAV Vote!
Many Fil-Ams express concerns about their disenfranchisement as voters in the Philippine elections. Is this a deliberate attempt by the Duterte administration to silence dissent among overseas absentee voters who are critical of his administration and deny them of their right to make their voices heard in the ballot??
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
