Sample digital ID for overseas voters | PHOTO COURTESY OF COMELEC
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to release guidelines on the issuance of digital voter’s identification for overseas voters in the 2025 national and local polls, Chairman George Erwin Garcia announced on Tuesday.
Last Monday, the poll body announced that Filipino voters abroad could secure a digital voter’s ID which will serve as an alternative valid ID for enrollment in the pilot internet voting for next year’s elections.
READ: Comelec to ensure security measures for 2025 overseas internet voting
“Sa ating mga kababayan abroad kasi, maliban sa kanilang passport, dapat meron silang nagagamit na isa pang valid ID. Ang naisip po natin, digital ID, at ilalatag na po namin hanggang Monday ang ating guidelines kung paano sila kukuha ng digital ID,” said Garcia in an ambush interview.
(For our fellow countrymen abroad, aside from their passports, they should have another valid ID. What we thought of is a digital ID, and we will be laying out the guidelines by Monday on how they can obtain a digital ID.)
“Asahan niyo po in the next few days na handa na po ang guidelines namin,” he added.
(Expect that in the next few days, our guidelines will be ready.)
According to Comelec, the digital voter’s ID can be presented as alternative identification if the passport or seafarer’s identification record book of an overseas voter with an active registration record is not available during the pre-enrollment period for internet voting in 2025.
The commission also noted that pre-registration or pre-enrollment for overseas voters participating in internet voting will be from February 12, 2025, to May 12, 2025.
READ: Comelec inks deal for online voting, counting system for overseas voters
Last June 25, Comelec sealed a deal with the joint venture of SMS Global Technologies Inc. and Sequent Tech Inc. for the first-ever online voting and counting system (OVCS) for Filipino overseas voters.
The joint venture had the lowest calculated bid for the procurement of OVCS among the four bidders for the upcoming 2025 midterm elections.