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OFWs TO BRING IN "INTELLIGENT,
DECISIVE VOTE" -- ALVAREZ
September 30, 2003
Despite a registration turn-out lower than expected,
overseas Filipinos voters will comprise an 'intelligent,
decisive vote' come May 2004, Presidential Adviser
on Overseas Filipino Communities Secretary Heherson
T. Alvarez today maintained.
Coming straight from a two-week trip to the United
States and Europe to campaign for overseas registration
in areas where turn-outs were at its lowest, Alvarez
also said the registration should not be considered
a failure as earlier reported in the news since
a 300,000-strong vote could already constitute a
decisive factor in the election of the country's
public officials.
"We must remember that Filipinos overseas form
what we call 'brain-drain.' They are mostly college
graduates, some holding blue collar jobs. Whether
domestic helpers in Hong Kong , entertainers in
Japan or caregivers in the United States or Canada
, they hold college degrees or at least college-level
education. Some OFWs are even teachers here back
home. These are intelligent people that may provide
quality votes," Alvarez stressed.
He likewise maintained that the OFW votes are less
prone to election fraud.
"The government people manning the polls next
year are mostly embassy staff of the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) deputized by the Commission
on Elections (COMELEC). As such, they are career
executives within the government service. They are
not appointed by anyone and are therefore not politically-tainted
or beholden to anyone," Alvarez added.
He remained optimistic that last minute registrants
today (Sept. 30) will still bring in a surge of
voters that could still up the number of overseas
voters.
Updates from the Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat
(OAVS) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
showed that as of noontime of Sept. 29, a total
of 286,666 voters have registered overseas, representing
35.8 percent of COMELEC's estimated 800,000 overseas
voters out of the total of 1.7 million potential
voters abroad.
According to OAVS vice-chair Catherine P. Maceda,
this figure is relatively good for the first year
of implementation of the Overseas Absentee Voting
Law.
She said studies conducted by her office showed
that with a 35% batting average, the government's
campaign to allow overseas Filipinos to vote is
already fairly a success, citing similar instances
in other countries where first time implementation
of their absentee law was more disastrous.
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