By MIKHA FLORES
MORE than 238,000 Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) will be removed from the voters’ list after failing to vote in the last two elections.
Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Friday only 29 of the 238,557 OAVs who were “deactivated” from the list manifested their intent to vote in 2013. The OAVs were given until Jan. 11 to apply for reactivation.
“If we will prepare tapos di rin darating yang mga yan, sayang lang (If we will prepare but they won’t show up, our efforts will be wasted),”he said.
Voter turnout for overseas absentee voters has been low in past elections. In 2010, Comelec registered a 26 percent turnout. In 2007, turnout was at 16 percent. 2004 had the highest turnout with 64.89 percent.
The number of OAVs is down to 731,213 after reaching a total of 988,384 in December.
The Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) Registration posted its highest number of new registrants for the 2013 elections with new voters reaching almost 400,000. The Regional Election Board approved 386,332 new registrants out of the 398,554 who applied.
Elections Commissioner Lucenito Tagle, chair of the Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting, said the creation of local registration centers was crucial in increasing the number of OFW voters for 2013.
Comelec set up registration posts in eight strategic areas to encourage OFWs to register as absentee voters before they leave abroad.
“Before they leave the country, huli na sila (Before they leave the country, we encourage them to vote),” Tagle said in December.
Local registration centers include the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Overseas Welfare Administration, Comelec Main Office, a Depatment of Foreign Affairs Office in Aseana, Commission on Filipinos Overseas Manila, Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines, Philippine Transmarine Carriers Inc.-Makati and Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
NAIA and POEA received the highest number of applications for registration with 77,543 and 52,347 registrants. The local centers accounted for 44 percent of the total list of new registrants.