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Overseas Voting Act of 2013 MANILA, Philippines- Two weeks after the May 2013 elections, last Monday, May 27, President Benigno Aquino III signed the Overseas Voting Act of 2013 into law, amending Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003. No more affidavit binding Filipinos to return in 3 years Under the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003, an immigrant or a permanent resident upon registration must execute an affidavit prepared by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) declaring that he or she "shall resume actual physical permanent residence" in the Philippines not later than three years from approval of his or her registration. With the passage of Republic Act 10590 amending Republic Act 9189, Filipino immigrants abroad will no longer need to execute an affidavit stating that they will return to the Philippines within three years before they are allowed to vote in absentia. Dual citizen can exercise their right of suffrage In the landmark case of Nicolas-Lewis vs. Comelec, dual citizens were refused by the COMELEC to register and vote in the 2004 Philippine elections, the Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that “there is no provision in the dual citizenship law – Republic Act No. 9225 otherwise known as the ‘Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003’– requiring ‘duals’ to actually establish residence and physically stay in the Philippines first before they can exercise their right to vote”. The ruling established a precedent that dual citizens can register and vote without establishing residence in the Philippines. A provision in the amended law is inserted to emphasize that dual citizens who reacquired or retained their Philippine citizenship under R.A. 9225 can exercise their right of suffrage. Resident Election Registration Board (RERB) and the Use of Technology The amended law mandates the creation of the RERB. The specific provision is a new insertion institutionalizing the overseas voting system by creating an office within the COMELEC exclusively for overseas voting.

The amendments also empowers the COMELEC to attain the most effective and innovative way using advance technology in enfranchising Filipinos overseas without compromising the secrecy and sanctity of the electoral process. Low Overseas voters’ turnout Of the registered 975,263 overseas voters, only 118,752 voted during the recent elections posting 16 percent voter turnout reported by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). In 2004 presidential elections, a record-high 64 percent overseas voter’s turnout was recorded. However, it dropped down to 16 percent in 2007 elections, and jumped into 26 percent during the 2010 presidential elections. Looking at the political spectrum of this trend, some attention one should consider is that, during 2004 & 2010 elections the political seat at stake is the ‘Head of State & Government’ position, the President. While the 2007 and 2013 mid-term elections are concentrated on the legislature. Furthermore, one should also take into consideration the various efforts of the government and numerous sectors to increase voters’ turnout. There are so many factors to consider that led to the low overseas voters’ turnout such as inaccessible voting centers, cost considerations, lost interest in voting, incompetent voters’ education campaign and among others. For now, it is with high hope that this piece of legislation will increase overseas voters’ turnout for the 2016 elections and succeeding elections to come. – Commission on Filipinos Overseas