The vote overseas

IN the coming seven months beginning today, our overseas kababayans will have the chance to register as voters for the election next year.

Records show that in the last two elections since the Overseas Absentee Voting law took effect, only less than half a million of Filipinos abroad have registered. That is a small chunk of the more than eight million Filipino populations who are overseas as workers or migrants. That number, despite the global financial crisis which will cause some of our OFWs to lose their jobs, is not expected to drastically decrease as more and more of our productive citizens press on to find work abroad as employment options in the country remain scarce and limited.

The low voter registration turn-out is partly due to the fact that registration requirements are not easy, particularly the need to personally appear at the Philippine embassies, consulates and officially-designated mobile registration offices as some of our kababayans do not live near any of these.

But if there’s a will, there’s a way. Our kababayans need to remember that voting is not just a right, it is also a responsibility that every Filipino citizen must carry out.

The 2010 election is particularly important because it is a presidential one. The present leadership, by stroke of fortune arising from People Power, has already had the opportunity to hold the country’s top position for more than the six-year maximum term provided under our Constitution. And throughout those years, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration has been marred by electoral fraud, charges of corruption and illegal deals, and funding scams. The Philippines needs a change.

Filipino communities abroad must strengthen their links beyond the social ties that commonly bind them. Together, they can become agents of political change by encouraging and helping one another to take advantage of the OAV law. They can also use their networks to help each other become more informed about the choices for candidates so that they can cast an intelligent vote.

We call on and strongly urge our kababayans, especially our kabaleyans, abroad to go exercise their right, perform their duty and be counted in the 2010 election.

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