MANILA – The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is making significant strides toward implementing online voting for overseas Filipinos in the upcoming 2025 national elections. This initiative aims to enhance voter participation among Filipinos living abroad.
In a statement released Friday, the DFA announced that its Overseas Voting Secretariat (OVS), in collaboration with the Commission on Elections-Office for Overseas Voting (Comelec-OFOV), has already conducted training sessions and information drives in key locations including South Korea, Spain, Hong Kong SAR, and Singapore.
DFA Undersecretary and OVS Chairperson Jesus Domingo emphasized the importance of this new voting method. “DFA-OVS fully supports Comelec with this additional mode of voting that will not only encourage our Kababayans abroad to exercise their right of suffrage but will also make the electoral process easier and more convenient for them,” Domingo stated.
The DFA plans to enhance voter awareness through extensive information campaigns. “These campaigns on internet voting will play a vital role in its success. The secretariat is committed and ready to assist Comelec through our Foreign Service Posts,” he added.
Further training sessions are scheduled for September in San Francisco, California, followed by events in Prague, Czech Republic, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Vancouver, Canada, in the coming months. Doha, Qatar, will also host similar initiatives soon.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia highlighted the potential broader impact of successful online voting for overseas Filipinos. “If internet voting for overseas Filipinos proves to be successful, we can use it domestically for our senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women,” he remarked.
The initiative will involve 76 foreign service posts, including the Manila Economic Cultural Offices (MECOs), facilitating online voting for the 2025 elections.
Filipinos abroad are reminded that the deadline for overseas voter registration is set for September 30, 2024, marking a crucial step in ensuring their participation in the democratic process.