Comelec sets Jan. 11 as deadline for OFWs to submit intent to vote

GMA News December 20, 2012 5:00pm

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has set January 11, 2013 as the deadline to overseas Filipinos to submit their intent to vote in the May 2013 elections.

In an interview with Vicky Morales for GMA Network's “24 Oras” newscast, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said, “It's a simple manifestation. Its a simple notice to the COMELEC that they intend to exercise their right to vote in 2013.”

The manifestation is needed so the records of the OFWs will not be erased from the national registry of overseas absentee voters, making them eligible to vote for the Philippine elections.

Overseas Filipinos have to submit to the nearest COMELEC office in the country that they are residing their manifestation of intent to vote.

“They need to prepare their identification. We have to have their passports ready and we'll take it from there,” said Jimenez.

He explained that the deadline aims to weed out inactive overseas voters who have not voted in the last two years.


He noted that the Philippines has around 240,000 inactive overseas voters.



Almost a million

Although the number of registered overseas voters for the 2013 polls did not reach the one million target of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the number was close: a record-high of 988,384 overseas absentee voters.

Previous elections show a rise and fall when it comes to the number of overseas voter registrants:
2004 election – 364,187 new voters;
2007 election – 143,236, and
2010 election – 235, 950.

“The concerted global effort for OAV is evident as it did not only make history but it also solidified global political participation by overseas Filipinos, generating a sense of awareness for, proving that OAV is truly an important political exercise,” the DFA said. - VVP, GMA News