Itinulak ng isang party-list solon ang paggamit ng electronic voting para sa mga overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
Sa House Bill 6770 na akda ni OFW party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino ay aamyendahan ang Overseas Voting Act of 2003 (Republic Act 10590) upang maaari ng makaboto ang mga OFW sa pamamagitan ng email, web-based portals at/o iba pang internet-based technology na matutukoy ng Commission on Elections (Comelec) na angkop na gamitin.
Sinabi ni Magsino na hindi na bago ang electronic voting at ginagamit na rin ito ng ibang bansa.
Binigyan-diin ni Magsino na mahalaga na mabigyan ng pagkakataon ang may 1.83 milyong OFW na makaboto.
“Voting, or the right of suffrage, is an essential element of democracy. It is the power of the people to choose their officials as their representatives to whom they entrust the exercise of the powers of government. This should be made widely accessible to all OFWs, especially since we tout them as the modern heroes who bring in more than USD 34.9 Billion of remittances to the country,” sabi ni Magsino.
Sa kasalukuyan ang mga OFW ay maaaring bumoto ng personal o sa pamamagitan ng postal voting sa mga embahada o konsulado ng Pilipinas o sa mga foreign service establishment kung nasaan sila sa itinakdang araw ng halalan.
“The gaps in the existing laws and regulations on overseas absentee voting must be addressed to allow OFWs and OFs to fully participate in our elections, thereby enabling them to effectively exercise one of the key attributes of their Filipino citizenship – the right to choose their leaders,” dagdag pa ng lady solon. (Billy Begas)
