OFW groups push for absentee vote

Various OFW (Overseas Filipinos Worldwide) groups launched Tuesday what they termed a historic OFW Summit to push for the early passage of the Absentee Voting and Dual Citizenship bills in Congress.

The summit, dubbed "Boto Ko, Bilangin N’yo!", was held at the auditorium of the University of Makati under the auspices of the Makati City government.

OFW delegates from all over the world came for the event, and it marked the first time that the sector organized themselves into a formal lobby group for the specific issues. In their manifesto, they cited the billions of dollars in yearly remittances as a "big boost to the economy," and yet they are denied their "constitutional and inalienable right to vote."

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, who has openly spoken for the absentee voting bill both here and abroad, offered the facilities of the University of Makati in support of their objectives.

"It is unfortunate that the people we are depriving of their basic right are those who, while abroad, have become more disciplined, more productive, and more conscientious, and who therefore should be casting the more intelligent vote," Binay said. In that context, he added, the OFW should be a most welcome participant in the decision-making process.

The OFW Summit participants trooped to the Senate and the House of Representatives yesterday to seek an audience with the lawmakers and ask them to sign a pledge that they would vote for the two bills.

The OFWNet Foundation, Inc., which served as the lead convenor of the said summit, was assisted by the Filipino Migrant Workers (FMW), Global Alliance of OFWs, Inc., the Kapulungan ng mga Samahang Pilipino Congress (Kasapi), the OCW Chamber of Commerce, Doha, Qatar, the Philippine Congress of Employees (a federation of labor unions based in the Philippines), and the Samahang Pilipino (SAPI) — OFW Development Cooperative.