DFA working with Comelec to address OAV gaps

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday said it continues to coordinate with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to fast-track the overseas voting process.

This, in light of the delay in the mailing of some ballots to overseas voters.

“In the interest of time, the DFA has authorized the concerned Foreign Service Posts to advance the cost of the remaining postage fees in order to bridge the funding gap while awaiting the remittance from Comelec,” the DFA said in a statement on Friday.

“The DFA will continue to coordinate with Comelec to fast-track the process,” it added.

For overseas voters who have not yet received their ballots, the agency urged them to contact the Embassy or Consulate General where they registered as voters.

Overseas voters concerned are also encouraged to check the websites and social media pages of these diplomatic posts to see if their voting packets were returned to the Embassy or Consulate General.

“Rest assured that the DFA and its Foreign Service Posts are doing everything they can to ensure that no overseas Filipino, who is qualified to vote overseas, is deprived of the right to vote,” the DFA said.

The overseas absentee voting kicked off on April 13 and will end on May 13.

Data obtained by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) showed that 1,822,115 million overseas Filipinos have been registered for the May 13 elections. Of this number, 794,286 are newly-registered.

In the 2013 elections, the overseas voter turnout was pegged at 16.11 percent or a total of 118,823. For the May 2019 polls, the DFA-Overseas Voting Secretariat sees a 30 percent to 50 percent — or about 548,764 to 914,607 — voter turnout.