Filipinos currently based in Hong Kong will now officially become the first batch of migrant Filipinos who will be able to vote in the new automated polls next year.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) already signed the memorandum of agreement that will allow and outline the automated election system that will be used in Hong Kong and Singapore for the 2010 national elections.
Signatories of the agreement are DFA Undersecretary for Special and Ocean Concerns Rafael E. Seguis, who also serves as Chairman of the DFA-Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (DFA-OAVS), as well as Comelec Commissioner and Chairman of the Comelec Committee in Overseas Absentee Voting Armando C. Velasco.
The agreement stated that the two government agencies will share the expenses, estimated to be at Php40 million, in the conduct of the automated elections in Hong Kong and Singapore, where there are a total of 128,272 registered voters.
“The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong and the Philippine Embassy in Singapore were chosen because they are nearest to the Philippines, among other foreign service posts that obtained the highest number of registrants. It will be easier and will cost less to send technical people to Hong Kong and Singapore, than to Los Angeles or Dubai,” Seguis said.
“We expect speedy, transparent, and accurate count of votes in these posts,” he added.
Meanwhile, the posts, embassies and consulates in other countries will utilise the traditional modes of overseas absentee voting for the 2010 elections, like personal voting and voting by mail.
The DFA Undersecretary, however, said the goal is to have automated election system in all Philippine posts all over the world.
“We are hoping that the automated elections in Hong Kong and Singapore would be a success, and will be replicated in all foreign service posts in the future,” Seguis said.
A total of 606,414 registered overseas absentee voters are expected to participate in the overseas absentee voting which will run from April 10 to May 10, 2010, or a month ahead of the regular elections.
