Comelec pushes easier OFW voting access

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it is looking at ways to make voting more accessible to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), including wider use of internet voting and possible early voting for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable sectors.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the poll body is concerned about the consistently low turnout among overseas Filipino voters despite efforts to encourage them to register and participate in elections.

There are an estimated 12 million Filipinos living abroad, but fewer than two million are registered overseas voters, Garcia said. “To think 12 million is the estimate of Filipinos abroad but only 2 million will register,” Garcia said.

The turnout was similarly low during the 2025 midterm elections, when 221,284, or 18.12 percent, of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters enrolled for online voting actually cast their ballots.

The poll chief said they are hoping internet voting can encourage more Filipinos abroad to participate by allowing them to vote using their phones, laptops or tablets without having to leave work or travel to a polling site.

Garcia said the Comelec is looking to intensify its campaign because it has already rolled out and pilot-tested internet voting, and hopes interest among Filipinos abroad will grow as they can use cellphones, laptops and iPads to vote.

Online modes

He said OFWs would not have to leave their jobs or give up their rest days on Saturdays and Sundays because voting would take less than five minutes.

In 2025, the Comelec introduced internet voting for overseas Filipinos during the national and local elections. Comelec rules provided for online voting in participating posts, while other locations used automated counting machines or other voting modes depending on host-country restrictions.

Garcia said the system could particularly benefit seafarers and other OFWs who may have difficulty reaching Philippine diplomatic posts during election periods.

The poll body has also used satellite registration activities to bring voter registration closer to Filipino communities abroad.

“However, we have a problem with why this is in person. Like ordinary Filipinos here in our country, we need to get our biometrics, fingerprints, pictures and signatures because these identify us. This is our major problem,” he said.