Comelec expecting 580,000 overseas voter turnout; 1.6M yet to register

A voter places her ballot in a PCOS machine after voting at precint 169 of San Antonio High School in Makati City. INQUIRER file photo / ARNOLD ALMACEN

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is expecting 580,212 overseas voters to participate in the 2022 elections, as it aims for the registration of 1.6 million more Filipinos for overseas voting.

Data from the Comelec presented by Philip Luis Marin, Attorney VI at the Comelec Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV), in an online press briefing on Friday showed that there are a total of 1.42 million registered overseas voters as of May 19, after the “cleansing” of records.

“Ang estimated total number of voter turnout na tinitingnan namin would be about 580,212. Ang estimation namin na pwede pang mag-register is about 1,657,750,” he said.

(We have an estimated voter turnout of 580,212 people. We estimate that another 1,657,750 people may register.)

Marin, however, noted that the figure is only a “rough estimate.”

“Syempre ang gusto namin ay talagang tumaas ang percentage ng boboto through information dissemination. We have a budget already that is being proposed for voter information abroad,” he said.

(Of course, we want this to increase through information dissemination. We have a budget already that is being proposed for voter information abroad.)

Meanwhile, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez also explained that the estimate was made in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that they are “a little conservative in this regard.”

Marin also noted that only 430,695 people or 31.30 percent of the 1.37 million registered overseas voters have participated in the 2016 elections, while 336,447 or 18.46 percent of the 1.82 million registered voters have actually voted in 2019.

According to Marin, all citizens of the Philippines who are abroad or will be abroad during the 30-day overseas voting period from April 10 to May 9, 2022, may register. Those who will register should be at least 18 years old on the election day.

They may register at any Post abroad, designated registration centers outside the Post, and designated registration centers in the Philippines. Application for transfer from Post to Philippine municipalities, cities, or districts can be filed in any designated registration centers in the Philippines, said Marin.

“If you are in the Philippines but you are voting abroad in a different country, then you file an application to transfer your registration before the OFOV on or before 30 September 2021,” Marin said in his presentation.

“If you are abroad and you are to go back to the Philippines and vote in the Philippines (Post to local), then you have to file an application for Transfer of Registration on or before 31 August 2021 before the Post or at the OFOV, Manila,” he added.

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