Comelec OKs 4,751 absentee voters

INQUIRER.net
May 11, 2009

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Elections on Monday announced that its Resident Election Registration Boards (RERB) of the Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting (COAV) has approved the applications for registration of only 4,751 such voters, way off its one million target for the 2010 elections.

In a statement released to the media, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body is still confident about meeting its target with the help of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) and overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) groups worldwide.

“We foresee a sharp increase in OAV registration in the coming months as posts and attaches all over the world have been stepping up its registration drive in their respective jurisdictions. We are also aware of efforts made by various OFW formations to encourage voter participation among their ranks,” he said.

The Comelec spokesman said the applications were approved during the RERB’s first hearing on April 4, 2009.

As of May 8, 2009, the number of OAV registrants is 69,240, most of which from the Asia and the Pacific (18,533), followed by the Americas (15,641), the Middle East and Africa (9,745), and finally Europe (9,345). The rest of the registrants were for those who were leaving for abroad via the OAV registration centers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (5,562) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (10,414).

Jimenez encouraged the more than eight million Filipinos abroad to register so that they can participate in the 2010 presidential and local elections.

OAV registration will run until August 31, 2009.