Comelec delegates canvassing powers to Department of Foreign Affairs

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has deputized senior officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC) to speed up the overseas absentee voting process in the coming midterm polls.

The SBOC will conduct the consolidation and manual canvassing of votes for overseas Filipinos.

Based on Resolution No. 10489-A promulgated on Feb. 26, the head of DFA posts abroad can order the opening of election returns, ballot boxes “and the performance of other acts necessary to immediately address cases where there clearly appear material defects in the ERs (election returns) and when the ERs appear to be tampered with or falsified.”

The Comelec said if the ERs for Office for Overseas Absentee Voting (OFOV) appear “tampered with, altered or falsified” or “otherwise not authentic or were prepared under duress, force, intimidation or prepared by persons other than the members of the SBOC concerned,” the board shall use the other copies of the ERs.

If the other copies are in the same condition, “the matter shall be brought to the attention of the commissioner-in-charge” of the Comelec’s OFOV.

According to Comelec spokesman James Jimenez, the need for “prior authority” from the commission to decide on this matter is prolonging the process, thus to avoid delay, the poll body decided to delegate the authority to the concerned DFA official or “head of post.” 

The voting for 1,882,173 overseas Filipinos who registered for absentee voting runs from April 13 to May 13, but they get to vote only for national posts such as 12 senators and one partylist organization.  

Data show 887,744 of the OAV voters come from the Middle East and Africa; 401,390 from Asia Pacific; 345,415 from North and Latin America and 187,624 from Europe.