Pinoys abroad who didn’t vote face Comelec axe

FILIPINO citizens living abroad who registered but failed to vote in the last two national elections—in 2013 and this year—will be delisted from the overseas voter rolls.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has formed a resident election registration board under its office for overseas voting (OFOV) to oversee the deactivation of the voters’ registration.

“The OFOV, after verifying the voting history of each registered overseas voter, noted that there were voters who failed to vote in two consecutive elections, the 2013 and 2016 national elections,” the Comelec said.

The formation of a resident election registration board (RERB) was provided for in a Comelec resolution promulgated on Aug. 11.

Under the law, Filipino voters who fail to vote in two consecutive national elections shall have their registration records deactivated by the Comelec.

The turnout for the 30-day overseas voting in last May’s elections was 406,780, much higher than the 112,310 turnout for the 2013 national elections.

The RERB will be composed of a senior Comelec official as chair, with officials of the Department of Labor and Employment and of Foreign Affairs as members.

The OFOV was granted authority to constitute additional RERBs to ensure that all registration records for deactivation are acted upon.

The RERB will begin processing the deactivation with five summary hearings from Aug. 30 to Oct. 31. Julie M. Aurelio