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| PCG's election board headed by VC Manuel (center) at sealing of election paraphernalia |
There is no reason why registered Filipino voters overseas should hesitate to cast their votes in the first ever internet voting in the Philippines, says the Philippine consulate officer in-charge of administering the vote in Hong Kong.
Vice Consul Jose Angelo Manuel, chairman of the
Consulate’s Resident Election Registration Board (RERB) in Hong Kong said
internet voting is secure and a lot faster than the previous in-person mode.
“Maraming
layers of checks, maraming layers of security, so don’t worry. So, please cast
your vote during this election,” Manuel said, after supervising the final
sealing and lockdown of the overseas voting and counting system in Hong Kong,
ahead of Sunday’s historic election.
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| PINDUTIN DITO |
He also said voting through the internet is a lot
faster and easier than when voters had to line up for hours at the Bayanihan
Centre, designated as the sole polling place for overseas Filipinos, until the
last presidential election in 2022.
“So now you have this system in place. Mas madali pa (it’s even easier) since
you can vote anytime, anywhere in Hong Kong,” he said.
“Even if you encounter any difficulties…the Consulate
is ready to assist you. Kung hindi po
tayo techie, wala tayong email, wala tayong passport, ok lang po yan. (if
you are not techie, you don’t have email or passport, that’s OK). Just come to
us, kami na po ang bahala (we’ll take
care of it).
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| Board shows a total of 83,330 Filipinos in HK are qualified to vote in this year's election |
Among the documents that were sealed was one that
indicated that Hong Kong has a total of 83,330 eligible overseas voters for
this year’s mid-term elections in the Philippines, when they get to choose a
maximum of 12 senators and one party-list.
This marked a sharp decrease in the number of
registered voters in Hong Kong, which came up to 93,265 in total for the 2022
presidential election, held amid the pandemic. Just before the registration
ended on Sept 30 last year, Manuel himself said the Consulate expected a total
registration figure of between 90,000 and 95,000.
This could be due to several factors, including the
absence of clearer guidelines and effort on the part of the Commission on
Elections to stoke voters’ interest in the landmark vote, the fact that it is
primarily a senatorial and not a presidential election, and an apparently widespread
perception that internet voting would require one to be a tech wizard.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
And initially at least, the process of
pre-enrollment as a voter did come with a number of bugs, like voters failing
to access the link to the Comelec portal, not getting the one-time password to complete
the process, failing to make it to the 5-minute cutoff, and many others.
It was also during this time that the Consulate
itself learned that pre-enrolment could not be done in the Philippines, with voters
getting the ominous message that they had been “blocked” from the system.
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| Comelec seal that ensures the election results are not tampered with |
But this time around, Manuel said they are confident pre-enrolment could be done well within the 5-minute time limit, and the voting, within the 15-minute allowance.
Nevertheless, if one gets timed out, he
said they can always go back to the portal, although they may have to start all
over again.
While voters are encouraged to do the pre-enrolment
and voting inside their homes where the internet connection is presumably
stronger and more stable, Manuel said they should not hesitate to ask help from
the Consulate if they encounter any problems, or feel overwhelmed by the new
process.
Eight desks have been set up at the OWWA OFW Centre
on the 18th floor of United Centre Building in Admiralty for this
purpose. The centre will be open every day, including public holidays, from
tomorrow, Apr 13 until May 12, from 9am to 4pm.
A word of caution: while voters are no longer required
to fill their ballots in a confined and regulated space, they should still not
take live videos or selfies of themselves voting, and share these on social
media as these violate the law on ballot secrecy.
“We discourage anyone from sharing the contents of
their ballot because the ballot is sacred, it’s for you, it’s your choice.
Please avoid sharing or informing others about your vote. It’s your responsibility
as a voter to maintain the security of your vote,” Manuel said.
Comelec outlaws the taking of photos or making
copies of one’s ballot during or after voting since this could be used for vote-buying
or vote-selling.
