On Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV)

PERSPECTIVE
By Cherry Ballescas, Philstar.com
Updated May 21, 2009 12:00 AM

We have written this before but we write this again now and will repeat until all the youth and migrant voters realize their power to elect any official of this country by virtue of their numbers!

Combined together, and if unified for particular candidates in the next election, 2010 (if there will be one), the youth and the migrants can do this nation and themselves and their families the biggest favor and provide the best gift they can ever give : Elect honest to goodness genuine public servants that this country needs!

Together with the rest of the voting Filipinos, the youth, the migrants and all other sectors can certainly finally change the path of our nation if all will be allowed to vote freely and honestly, and if their votes will be honestly counted and accounted for!

Hence, we also repeat our call for vigilant and collaborative partnerships from everyone, here in the Philippines and all other Filipinos outside the Philippines, to ensure that they are registered to vote for 2010, to ascertain that the electoral mechanisms are in place where they are, and, to make sure that voting and balloting of votes are as transparent and honest and quick in their areas.

To all the Filipino youth and migrant voters for 2010, start your vigilant campaign to get all the other youth and migrants to officially register and ensure that all registered voters will vote and have their votes honestly counted during the 2010 elections!

We particularly echo the call of our migrant groups to all our overseas Filipinos to make sure that our migrants will exercise their right to vote where they are now throughout the world. Let us get all those million migrants to vote and let the migrants be true heroes and heroines of our land by electing new, honest public servants long awaited by our people in this country!

However, the updates on Overseas Absentee Voting are alarming. Note the following updates provided by Ms. Ellene Sana of the Center for Migrants’ Advocacy (CAM) circulated through the net:

As of April 29, the running total of new OAV registrants is 60,279 for the three-month period ( February to -April 29) bringing the total cumulative OAV registrants for 2010 elections to some 410,000 only. This number is less than the total of registered OAV voters in 2007 elections because of the delisting of more than 100T OAV registered voters (those who failed to vote in two consecutive elections).

According to Ellene’s update, the top country for new OAV registrants for 2010 is the US with 11,388. Saudi which hosts some 1.2 M OFWs has only 2,164 new OAV registrants for 2009!

May we relay these questions of CMA to all our overseas kababayans: 1) How is the conduct of OAV registration in your respective places? 2) Do you have sufficient DCMs, elections registrars/personnel, information materials, 3) Does the schedule allow for flexibility to accommodate those who can only make it on weekends or evenings? 4) Has the diplomatic post in your area conducted mobile and/or field registration?

Please email your updates to the following email address: cma@tri-isys..com or you may wish to call Telefax: +632 4330684 or Telephone: +632 920 5003. You may also request CMA for OAV registration materials and posters.

CMA also shared their appreciation for the efforts of the posts and the various Filipino organizations overseas to reach out to our overseas Filipino kababayans to urge them to register for the 2010 elections. For example, last April 24, the UP Alumni Association -Geneva (UPAAG) conducted a trainors' training on the OAV at the Philippine Mission Office in Geneva in order to really have a good grasp of the OAV processes and procedures. CMA was invited to provide updates and inputs on the OAV. The Ugnayang Bayan, also in Geneva also committed to help in campaign for more OAV registration for 2010.

Finally, CMA is asking all to pass on this message to all overseas Filipinos: “We hope that more groups will take up the cause. If we long and thirst for change in our country, this is our chance -- urge our overseas filipino kababayans to register as overseas absentee voters for the 2010 national elections so we can have a say in the selection of the leaders of our country. Let us be responsible citizens.”

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Email: cherryb_thefreeman@yahoo.com