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MANILA, Philippines?The government has set aside P40 million for the holding of automated elections next year in Hong Kong and Singapore, where there are more than 128,000 registered Filipino voters.
Under a memorandum of agreement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Commission on Elections will share the expenses in conducting the polls in the two foreign diplomatic posts.
The MOA was signed Friday by Rafael Seguis, DFA undersecretary for special concerns, and Comelec Commissioner Armando Velasco during simple rites at the foreign office headquarters in Pasay City.
Seguis also chairs the DFA-Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat while Velasco heads the Comelec Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting.
According to Seguis, "the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong and the Philippine Embassy in Singapore were chosen because they are nearest to the Philippines, among other foreign service posts with the highest number of
registrants."
"It will be easier and will cost less to send technical people to Hong Kong and Singapore than Los Angeles or Dubai," Seguis said.
At the same time, he expressed confidence the counting of votes in both Hong Kong and Singapore will be "speedy, transparent and accurate."
All other Philippine embassies and consulates abroad will continue to employ the traditional modes of overseas absentee voting for the 2010 elections, like personal voting and casting votes by mail.
According to Seguis, the DFA's goal to have automated elections in all diplomatic posts abroad remains.
"We are hoping that the automated elections in Hong Kong and Singapore would be a success and will be replicated in all foreign service posts in the future," he added.
A total of 606,414 registered overseas absentee voters are expected to participate in the absentee polls which are scheduled to be held on April 10 to May 10, 2010.
The US has the most number of overseas absentee voter registrants with more than 30,000, followed by China with over 21,000 and the United Arab Emirates with more than 15,000.
In the 2007 mid-term elections, there were 504,124 registered absentee voters.
Three month ago, the Comelec rejected more than 4,300 applications for overseas absentee voting for the May 2010 polls,
According to the poll body, many prospective voters had refused or failed to submit sworn statements that they would return to the country three years after voting in absentia.
Under Republic Act no. 9189, otherwise known as the "Overseas Absentee Voting Law," permanent residents or immigrants are required to execute an affidavit or intent to return an actually reside in the Philippines within three years from approval of their registration.
Aug. 31 was the deadline for the overseas absentee voting registration.
