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Tuesday, January 18, 2004
Comelec asks to prepare plan for absentee voting
MANILA -- President Arroyo on Saturday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to map out a feasible plan that would ensure Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to vote in the May 10 elections.
And while they are at it, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) should hold the expenses.
Bunye said government must be judicious in using its meager resources. "It goes without saying. Alam naman natin na talagang kailangan natin ang pananalapi, hindi lamang para sa election kundi para sa ibang pamamalakad din ng pamahalaan (We know that we need funds, not just for the election, but for other government functions as well)," he said.
This developed after Senate President Franklin Drilon rejected DFA's budget proposal, saying it is bloated and abusive.
Arroyo and Bunye were reacting to reports that the DFA is asking for at least $4.5 million or P225 million to implement the absentee voting law and count the votes of 363,965 eligible OFWs.
DFA records showed that 363,965 Filipinos registered for absentee voting, broken down into 37,585 in Europe, 12,957 in the US, 156,295 in Asia-Pacific, and 157,128 in the Middle East and Africa.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Segis has told Congress that the amount would be used to pay the honoraria of 2,271 volunteers who would supervise the electoral exercise. The volunteers are Filipinos who reside or work in areas where absentee voting will be implemented.
However, Drilon noted certain irregularities in the DFA's budget proposal.
Drilon said the DFA is taking advantage of the absentee voting law by hiring additional personnel.
"The Senate will not allow this to happen," Drilon said.
He noted that in Moscow, seven persons will be hired to count the votes of 25 absentee voters. He said the DFA could just deputize its own personnel and hire helpers in areas with large concentrations of voters.
Arroyo, in a statement, said all eligible overseas Filipinos must be able to vote in the coming polls.
"The right of overseas Filipinos to choose their leaders has both a symbolic and practical significance. It binds them to the national future as it allows them to participate in the mandate of governance," she said.
"This is part of our fight for change that must include every Filipino abroad and his family back home."
Absentee voting continues
Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert has assured that Filipinos overseas can vote despite the nullification by the Supreme Court of the Comelec contract for computerized elections.
Albert said Philippine Foreign Service posts will assist in the election proper and in the counting of votes, although she admitted that the SC's decision will result in bigger challenges for the DFA.
She said based on the voter registration turnout, 15 voting centers, which account for 86 percent of total registrants, will be affected.
These are the Philippine embassies in Abu Dhabi, Athens, Brunei, Doha, the Holy See, Kuwait, Riyadh, Rome and Singapore; the Philippine consulates general in Hong Kong, Jeddah, Milan, and Saipan, the Philippine overseas labor office in Dubai, and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.
"We will do everything in our power to make sure that our overseas Filipinos can cast their votes and that their votes will be counted," Albert said.
She said that the DFA will continue to work closely with Comelec to ensure that Filipinos overseas can exercise their right to choose their leaders.
Remittance hike
The absentee voting law is government's way of thanking OFWs for their contribution to the economic welfare of the country.
Remittances from OFWs for the first 11 months of 2003 have reached $6.9 billion or 4.8 percent higher than the $6.6 billion posted in the same period last year.
Bangko Sentral Gov. Rafael Buenaventura attributed the rise in remittances to the deployment of higher-paid professional and service workers such as caregivers, clerks, office managers, and utility personnel.
However, the November 2003 remittances dropped to $579 million or by 4.4 percent from $606 million in November 2002.
Buenaventura said this could be due to the volatility in the foreign exchange market, which could have encouraged OFWs to delay remittances on expectations of further depreciation and higher peso equivalent.
The BSP expects remittances to expand by 6 percent to $7.6 billion.
The US, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates continue to be the major sources of OFW remittances.
Bunye also assured the teachers who will serve as election officers in the May 10 polls that their request for additional insurance coverage and security will be considered by the Comelec with the help of concerned government agencies. SCT/AFP
(January 18, 2004 issue)
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