OFW voter turnout ‘okay’

With the Commission on Elections (Comelec) predicting a 300,000 voter turnout for overseas voters in the May 10 elections, Filipinos abroad may just provide the swing vote to decide the country’s next president.

The Comelec reported a satisfactory turnout at the country’s embassies and consulates all over the world, consistent with its forecast of a 60 to 80 percent voter turnout by the close of voting on May 10.

With Hong Kong-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) voting in droves, Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason Jr. said the voter turnout was "okay."

He described the Hong Kong voters as "excited" and unmindful of "waiting in line."

Tuason said that Hong Kong, which has the highest number of registered overseas voters at 87,000, had the highest voter turnout at 4,466, followed by Singapore at 1,814.

He said that the only problem they encountered so far is the lack of personnel to supervise the voting since there are few Filipinos willing to take on the eight-hour job at a pay lower than what they receive as OFWs.

Tuason said he expects the voter turnout to peak during weekends, when OFWs are free from work.

Overseas absentee voting (OAV) for land-based Filipinos started last Sunday and will continue until May 10. Sea-based overseas Filipinos started voting a month earlier, but the turnout has been dismal, with only 10 percent voting thus far.

First to vote among the land-based overseas Filipinos was a nurse working in New Zealand.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert identified the lucky voter as Bernadette Estuita, who cast her ballot at the Philippine embassy in Wellington.

"Wellington is near the international dateline and was among the first of our foreign service posts to allow overseas voters to cast their votes," she said. "And when our embassy in Wellington opened its doors at 9 a.m., Wellington time, at the head of the line was Miss Bernadette Estuita."

Estuita, who hails from Marikina City, is a registered nurse working at the Riverleigh Retirement Home and Hospital in Lower Hut, New Zealand.

But the overall honor of being the first overseas Filipino voter belongs to Captain Brigido Sevilla of San Juan, Batangas.

Sevilla, who has been plying the international sea lanes for over 20 years, voted on March 12 at the Philippine embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

Turnout for yesterday’s vote was described by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as "very encouraging" and "marked by a high degree of enthusiasm."

Opposition stalwart and Vice President Teofisto Guingona hailed the voters for their "energetic participation" and "political maturity" even in the face of "their sacrifice of living and working away from their loved ones."

"We hail the political maturity of our OFWs who, by exercising their sacred right to vote despite being away from our shores, re-affirm their faith in our democratic institutions and in the sovereign will of each and every Filipino voter," he said.

A majority of the voters are believed to be workers like Estuita whose remittances help, in Guingona’s words, "keep our economy afloat."

The turnout was a marked contrast to the March 12 vote for sea-based Filipinos. Of the 2,304 seamen that registered to vote, less than 10 percent had voted by Sunday.

"Voting has started for our land-based overseas voters. The voting had been peaceful, well-organized and well-coordinated. Careful planning and preparation have paid off," Albert said.

The DFA secretary revealed that over 11,000 of 368,000 registered voters had already cast their votes.

"This number represents a good start. It is just the first day of voting and I anticipate this number to rise significantly over the next four weeks," she said.

Manning the elections were 2,205 officers deputized by the Comelec from among members of the foreign service corps and attached government agencies and volunteers from Filipino communities.

Albert said that 65 percent of the election officers came from the Filipino communities.

Designated by the DFA as voting centers were 81 embassies and consulates as well as three economic and cultural offices in Taiwan.

"The OAV process is one of the most challenging and logistically-intensive operations of the DFA. The challenge is significant in terms of the capability as well as performance of a new role never before exercised in the history of the foreign service," Albert said.

Representatives from five political parties along with the National Movement for Free Elections appointed watchers and coordinators for the overseas voting.

A total of 388 watchers and 30 coordinators were appointed by political parties like the (K-4) and the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP).

Among the other interesting records yesterday were the oldest and youngest voter.

Adjudged most senior voter was 98-year-old Toribia Lopez, who voted in Guam, while the youngest was identified as 18-year-old Christopher Van Opstal, who voted in Sydney and who age-wise qualified for the elections just last month.

Van Opstal felt a strong sense of history after casting his vote.

"I believe that by this act I am answering the call of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, to be the fair hope of our Inang Bayan," he said.— With AFP