HK, Singapore OFWs transmit votes successfully
11 May 2010 – The Department of Foreign Affairs-Overseas Absentee
Voting Secretariat (DFA-OAVS) said today that the election results
from the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong and the Philippine
Embassy in Singapore were successfully transmitted to the Commission
of Elections (COMELEC) server in Manila last night.
The automated mode of voting was implemented in the two areas.
The Consulate General in Hong Kong said that 39,383 out of 95,355 OFWs cast their ballots in 96 clustered precincts.
Unofficial results showed that Senator Noynoy Aquino of the Liberal
Party (LP) led the candidates for President with 19,606 votes,
followed by Eddie Villanueva of Bangon Pilipinas with 8,327 votes and
Senator Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party (NP) with 5,622 votes.
Lakas-CMD bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (2,556) bet followed,
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino’s Joseph Estrada (1,980), Bagumbayan-VNP’s
Richard Gordon (945), Kilusang Bagong Lipunan’s (KBL) Vetellano Acosta
(58), independent candidate Jamby Madrigal (30), Ang Kapatiran’s John
Carlos delos Reyes (26) and independent Nicanor Perlas (20) were next.
For Vice President, Senator Mar Roxas (LP) got 19,837 votes, followed
by Senator Loren Legarda of the Nationalist People’s Coalition with
6,885 and Bangon Pilipinas’ Perfecto Yasay with 6, 353 votes.
Garnering fourth place is PDP-Laban’s Jejomar Binay (4,083), followed
by Bagumbayan-VNP’s Bayani Fernando (998), Lakas-CMD’s Eduardo Manzano
(639), KBL’s Jose Sonza (103) and Ang Kapatiran’s Dominador Chipeco
(20).
For senators, the top 12 are: Bong Revilla (22,020); Ralph Recto
(20,495); Franklin Drilon (19,982); Jinggoy Estrada (19,946); Miriam
Defensor-Santiago (19,739); Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (18,555); Juan Ponce
Enrile (16,479); Vicente Sotto III (14,262); Pilar Juliana Cayetano
(13,817); Serge Osmena III (11,690); Jose de Venecia III (11,263),
and; Teofisto Guingona III (10,853).
The next 12 are: Liza Maza (10,460); Manuel Lapid (10,217); Satur
Ocampo (9,949), Ma. Katherine Inocencio (9,834); Imelda Papin (9,471);
Rey Langit (9,444), Gilbert Cesar Remulla (9,088); Sonia Roco (8,828);
Francisco Tatad (8,424); Ramoncito Ocampo (7,533); Alexander Tinsay
(7,188) and; Susan Ople (7,056).
In Singapore, 9,588 out of 31,851 OFWs cast their ballots in 32 clustered precincts.
Unofficial results there said that Aquino led the presidential race
with 4,949 votes, followed by Villar (1,314) and Gordon (1,105).
At fourth place is Teodoro (1,024), followed by Villanueva (711),
Estrada (345), Madrigal (19), Perlas (19), Acosta (17) and Delos Reyes
(12).
For Vice President, Roxas led all candidates with 5,017 votes,
followed by Legarda (1,617) and Bagumbayan-VNP’s Bayani Fernando
(1,060).
Following them are: Binay (1,056), Yasay (386), Manzano (247), Sonza
(71) and Chipeco (15).
For senators, the top 12 are: Recto (5,651); Defensor-Santiago
(5,534); Drilon (5,472); Cayetano (4,394); Revilla (4,373); Osmena
(4,085); Marcos (3,906); Enrile (3,899); Guingona (3,825); Sotto
(3,711); Estrada (3,120); Roco (2,679), and; De Venecia (2,679).
The next 12 are: Rozzano Rufino Biazon (2,582); Tatad (2,555); Lapid
(2,431); Remulla (2,381); Alexander Lacson (2,368); Risa Hontiveros
Baraquel (2,277); Ramon Mitra (1,825); Ople (1,704); Gwendolyn
Pimentel (1,603); Emilo Mario Osmena (1,542), Ocampo (1,383) and
Nereus Acosta (1,375).
Other Embassies and Consulates General are manually canvassing their
votes after polling ended at 7:00 p.m. (Philippine time) yesterday.
A total of 134,000 registered overseas voters participated in the
overseas absentee voting (OAV) as of yesterday morning. This
surpasses the 2007 voter turnout of 81,732.
The DFA-OAVS, through its OAVS Monitoring and Action Center
(OAVS-MAC), is operating 24 hours a day to receive the results of
voting in all the Embassies and Consulates General around the world.
They are expected to receive all results on or before May 15.
DFA-OAVS Vice Chairperson Nestor Padalhin said that the results
transmitted at the OAVS-MAC are unofficial, as the official canvassing
is done at the COMELEC and the National Board of Canvassers at the
Philippine International Convention Center.
DFA-OAVS Chairperson and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis
also thanked the volunteers and other groups who took time out to help
the Embassies and Consulates General in the OAV exercise.
For the foreign service posts who adopted postal or personal voting, a
preliminary certificate of canvassing are being faxed to the DFA-OAVS
on the results of voting in their area of jurisdiction after the
counting of ballots.
OFWs to vote tomorrow, Saturday
9 April 2010- Overseas Filipino workers may now exercise their right to vote as the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) starts tomorrow, Saturday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is urging all registered overseas voters to participate in the OAV for the 2010 elections at 93 Philippine Embassies and Consulates General around the world come April 10.
In a press briefing with Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Commissioner Armando Velasco, DFA-OAVS Vice-Chairperson Nestor Padalhin assured that the DFA-OAVS, in partnership with COMELEC Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting, will conduct an honest, orderly and peaceful election this year.
The OAV will start on April 10 at 8:00 AM (designated country time) and will end on May 10 at 6:00 PM (Philippine time). All votes should be received by the end of the voting period, including the ones sent through the mail. Daily voting schedules will be at least eight hours a day, and Embassies and Consulates General may adopt a flexible schedule to accommodate the most number of voters.
“Our Embassies and Consulates General are well-prepared to conduct the overseas absentee voting process. Our personnel have undergone a three-day training in Manila last February to prepare them for their duties in this election. There were also similar trainings in Los Angeles, Madrid, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Hong Kong and Singapore to further equip our personnel in the different Embassies and Consulates General of the knowledge and skills for this electoral exercise,” Undersecretary Seguis added.
The Resident Election Registration Board of the COMELEC certified 589,830 overseas voters for the May 2010 elections.
The overseas voters will have the opportunity to elect the next President, the Vice President, 12 senators and one party-list representative.
There are three modes of voting that will be employed in the OAV exercise for this particular election period: Automated Mode of Voting in Hong Kong and Singapore, Personal Voting, and Postal Voting.
The DFA reminded voters using the Personal and the Automated Modes of Voting to bring their passports or other personal identification documents to facilitate the verification of their identity.
Just like in voting precincts in the Philippines, the Automated Mode of voting will be implemented in Hong Kong and Singapore. Voters will have their names verified against the list of registered voters by the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI).
Voter will be given a ballot, a secrecy folder, and a pen and will be directed to the voting area. The names of the candidates will be listed in alphabetical order on the ballot, where voters will shade and blacken the ovals beside the names of the candidates they will vote for. The voter will then place or feed the ballot into the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine which will read the votes on both sides of the ballot simultaneously.
The voter will return the secrecy folder and the pen to the SBEI, have his or her index finger marked with indelible ink, and then affix his or her thumb mark in the list of voters.
For the Personal Voting, voters will have their names verified against the list of registered voters by the SBEI. They will be given a ballot and a secrecy folder, and directed to the voting area where they will accomplish their ballot. After this, they will return the ballots to the SBEI, where they will affix their right thumb mark on the space provided in the ballot and the space provided in the OAV list.
The SBEI will detach this portion of the ballot and will deposit it in the compartment for spoiled ballots. They will then return the ballot to the voter who will drop it in the compartment for valid ballots.
For those registered for Postal Voting, voters will receive a mailing packet containing their ballot and the ballot envelope. They will accomplish the ballot, affix their right thumb mark at the lower portion, tear off that portion and put it inside the ballot envelope. They will then fold the accomplished ballot, seal it, and put it in the ballot envelope.
Before sending it back by mail to the Embassy or Consulate General which has jurisdiction over them, they have to affix their name and signature on the left-hand corner of the ballot envelope.
Filipino seafarers who are registered overseas absentee voters may personally vote at the Embassy or Consulate General where they are currently docked. If the area where they are docked is implementing the Postal Method, there should be an identified international seaport under its jurisdiction.
Counting of votes will be done at the Embassy or Consulate General where the votes were sent or cast. Counting will start immediately after the close of polling precincts. It will be done in public, continuous and uninterrupted until all the votes have been counted.