Photo Release

November 14, 2022

Ensuring fair and honest overseas polls: Sen. Nancy S. Binay asks the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on its plans to ensure a fair and honest Philippine election process overseas and deter cheating and fraud in future polls. Binay raised this question during the plenary debates on the P6.48 billion budget of the Comelec for 2023, Monday, November 14, 2022, after the poll body bared its plans for the possible implementation of innovative ways to increase overseas voters’ turnout such as the "Register Anywhere" and the "Vote Anywhere" programs. While the programs may encourage more overseas Filipinos to participate in the local elections, she wondered whether this would pave the way to vote multiple times and, as a result, muddle the accuracy of the poll results. “If there’s a 30-day period under the absentee voting, would that be easier for an overseas Filipino, who cast his or her vote in Saudi Arabia be able to vote again by flying to the United Arab Emirates? What then is the mechanism to prevent overseas Filipinos from double voting?” Binay asked. Sen. Imee Marcos, who sponsored the Comelec 2023 budget, assured Binay that it would be impossible for overseas Filipinos to ‘double vote’ because they need to present their voters ID so that the poll body may be able to countercheck whether they already cast their votes. (Senate PRIB)

Photos