MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 7, 2013) – A Filipino migrants group called Migrante-Middle East deplored the Commission on Elections over its rule on the printing of additional ballots for overseas absentee voters after the election body reinstated the 238,000 OAVs in a separate resolution it recently issued.
On March 5, the COMELEC en banc promulgated Resolution No. 9653, which directed its Allocation Committee to allocate ballots equivalent to 20 percent of the reinstated registered OAVs.
“We supposed the COMELEC is on the right track when it passed a resolution reinstating the 238,000 OAVs who failed to vote twice during the 2007 and 2010 elections, respectively. But, it does not make sense if it will limit the printing of additional ballots less than the numbers of OAVs it ruled to reinstate,” John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
He added: “Willing ang COMELEC na i-reinstate ang 238,000 OAVs bilang pagkilala sa karapatang bumoto, but they will only provide 47,600 additional ballots on top of the 700,000 ballots for OAVs. So, what does it mean?”
He explained that it would mean only 47,600 of the 238,000 reinstated OAVs could cast their vote. “This is disenfranchisement, plain and simple. COMELEC resolution 9653 may suffer legal infirmities, but for sure it is illogical and it does not make sense in relation to an earlier COMELEC ruling reinstating the 238,000 OAVs,” he said.
Monterona, also vice chairperson of Migrante sectoral party of OFWs and families, said he will urge their executive committee to officially send an urgent manifestation urging the COMELEC to reconsider its Resolution 9653 and thus print more additional ballots for the 238,000 reinstated OAVs.
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