Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — There will be at least 1.3 million Filipinos overseas, registered to vote next year.
That’s the most there has ever been.
But the problem is: The number of those who actually do turn up to vote has always been low.
For instance, in 2013, more than 700,000 were enlisted — but only 118,000 voted.
There were several reasons.
First, many of them didn’t get the chance to visit the embassy to cast their ballots because of their work.
In some cases, they could risk getting fired.
Many were out at sea during the elections.
And still others, just wouldn’t bother to do so.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) are out to change this.
On Wednesday (September 23), Election Commissioner Arthur Lim transferred his voter registration from Las Piñas to Hong Kong.
This is what you need to do if you’re going to be outside the Philippines from April 9 to May 9, 2016.
Visit the DFA consular offices in Parañaque, San Fernando in Pampanga, Cebu, or Davao.
Or you can visit passport centers in malls or at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) main offices.
Look for the overseas voter registration booth and tell the officer which country you’ll be in from April 9 to May 9 next year.
Yes, you have one month to cast your vote.
If you’re already abroad, just go to the Philippine Embassy to register.
Like all eligible voters, your deadline is on October 31.
When it’s time to vote, you might not need to go to the embassy.
That’s because the embassy will pick at least two other voting centers in places where there are many Filipinos.
This would be the new “mobile voting center” concept that Comelec and the DFA had been working on.
If you’re a seafarer, you’ll find voting centers in some ports — in Norway, Japan, and Hong Kong.
If you get the chance, they’ll even bring the voting center on board your ship.
They call this “akyat barko.”
The government says it is looking for a way to encourage employers — to let OFWs take a day off to vote.
All this, to make it possible for all qualified Filipinos to exercise their most basic political right wherever they may be in the world.
“It’s high time that OFWs make known their stand on certain issues and show that they’re a force to be reckoned with,” Lim said.
According to Comelec, there are 8.5 million Filipinos scattered all over the world who are eligible to register as voters.
The Commission hopes to reach at least half this number — if not in 2016, then in the elections after that.
