MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in Brunei has briefed the Filipino community there on procedures and on health and safety protocols for in-person overseas voting that will start on Sunday, April 10.
In an email sent to Philstar.com on Thursday, the embassy’s Third Secretary and Vice Consul Jaybee Arguillas said the embassy gave a briefing on the electoral procedures on April 1 in a quarterly meeting with Filipino community organizations and other officials of the embassy.
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Representatives of other Filipino communities in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Europe, the United States and Canada aired concern on voter disenfranchisement. They said Philippine posts in their respective areas are allegedly unprepared for the conduct of overseas voting, while some say that they have yet to receive proper information on how they may cast their votes.
READ: Overseas Filipinos say lack of preparations, info may keep many from voting
Filipinos abroad totaling 1.697 million may start casting their votes on Sunday, April 10, until May 9. Comelec on Wednesday, however, suspended overseas voting in Shanghai as a precaution due to the volume of new COVID-19 infections in China.
For its part, the embassy in Brunei said it continues to disseminate information on the procedures through its website and social media pages. Arguillas said that it also addresses queries through official hotlines and direct messages.
Higher voter turnout expected
Data from the Commission on Elections showed that there are 12,304 registered voters in the country’s embassy in Brunei. It only saw 4,034 migrant Filipinos cast their ballots during the midterm elections in 2019.
"However, since the elections this year are for national and local positions, the embassy expects a higher turnout of voters for this OV period," Arguillas said.
Voters in Brunei will vote in-person at the Multipurpose Hall in the Chancery while implementing physical distancing measures. The votes will be counted through an automated electronic system via a vote-counting machine.
“The Embassy also concluded the Final Testing and Sealing of its VCMs on April 5 at the Chancery,” Arguillas said, adding that representatives from political parties PDP-Laban, Partido Federal, the Liberal Party, and a representative of reelectionist Sen. Joel Villanueva witnessed the FTS.
Villanueva is chair of the Senate labor committee.
The embassy said that it has a back-up VCM in case the current one encounters problems. It said it also plans to request another machine from Comelec.
Meanwhile, it has also appointed members to electoral boards, like the Special Board of Election Inspectors, Special Ballot Reception and Custody Groups, and Special Board of Canvassers. The Brunei post said all members of the electoral boards received online training conducted by Comelec for Foreign Service Posts.