Comelec, DFA urge overseas Filipinos to enroll for online voting

Commission on Elections Chairman George Erwin Garcia. | PHOTO: Screengrabbed from Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday urged registered Overseas Filipino voters to complete the pre-voting enrollment for the 2025 elections.

Garcia said that an overseas Filipino voter must register first in the pre-voting enrollment before they can cast their votes.

“I think our problem won’t be the voting itself, but the enrollment. Will they have a high interest in enrolling? Because you may be a registered voter, but if you can’t enroll, you won’t be able to vote,” Garcia said in Filipino at a press conference at the signing of a memorandum of agreement with DFA, Parole and Probation Administration, and National Council of Senior Citizens.

Garcia also said overseas Filipinos must not fear for their status abroad if they are planning to register for online voting.

DFA Undersecretary and DFA Overseas Voting Secretariat Chairperson Jesus Domingo said the agency conducts information dissemination for overseas voting.

“We also encourage our OFW communities on the advocacy of informing our kababayan (fellow citizens)  of the details, the deadlines, and the enrollment for internet voting. We asked them to go to our kababayan,” Domingo said at the press conference.

Garcia also said the voters would be given a password for verification and a two-page instruction manual on how to do the internet voting.

“If you are given a password, don’t share it,” he added.

The pre-voting enrollment period for overseas internet voting is from March 10 to May 7.

Meanwhile, the 30-day overseas online voting period is from April 13 to May 12 at 7 p.m. (Philippine Standard Time).

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