The fuss about absentee voting

The recent public hearing on absentee voting held at the Philippine Embassy on February 24 awakened the expatriate Filipino community to the possible exercise of suffrage in the 2004 polls.

Among the government officials who attended were Senators Edgardo Angara, Aquilino Pimental, John Osmena, Panfilo Lacson, Jr., Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Congressman Apolinario Lozada, Commission on Election (COMELEC) Chairman Alfredo Benipayo, and COMELEC Commissioner Florentino Tuazon.

Leaders of various Filipino organizations in Japan came in full force to voice their views about the proposed bill, while at the same time, expressing interest in volunteering come Election Day to ensure the safety and sanctity of the ballot.

The fuss over the absentee voting bill may be apt, for indeed, the 7.4 million Filipinos abroad, the "modern day heroes" who have kept the Philippine economy afloat with around US$7 billion of remittances annually, deserve to choose the country's stewards. The inclusion of the overseas electorate in Philippine polity will constitute a whopping 20 per cent of the total number of voters. This volume is enough to turn the tide in a close race.

However, despite the legislature's best intentions, many Filipinos are wary over how much dent the overseas electorate can make in Philippine politics, especially if the masses back home can stomach an Erap Estrada for president and showbiz personalities in the Senate. Moreover, the proposed bill stipulates that the canvass of absentee votes will only be permitted if its outcome will alter or affect the election results.

In addition, the bill provides that the absentee votes shall be counted in the COMELEC Central Office and not in the countries where these votes were cast. With the COMELEC's propensity for hocus-pocus, these votes can be easily manipulated, as many precedents have clearly proved. What is worse is that overseas voters will not be around to safeguard their ballot or file the necessary complaints.

More than the absentee voting bill, what the country needs is an electoral system that is foolproof and free from outside infringements. Even the computerization of the polls has not been implemented despite the law being promulgated many years back. History has shown that the Philippines is known for crafting fancy laws but short on implementation.

While the recent public hearing brought Filipino leaders to the Embassy in throngs, the grandstanding and sometimes redundant discussions therein have shown that many have forgotten one thing.

In a democracy, esp. in the Philippines, it is not the voting. It is the counting that counts. *

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