Filipino overseas voting starts today

Officers during the final testing and sealing of vote counting machines to be used for the 2016 Filipino Overseas Absentee Voting in Dubai and the Northern Emirates

"We're ready and it's all systems go for the 2016 Filipino Overseas Voting," said Philippine consulate officials on Thursday after finishing the testing and sealing of vote counting machines to be used for the month-long political event which starts today.
This will be the fifth time since 2004 for registered Filipinos voters in the UAE to exercise their right to vote. They will choose among the five presidential aspirants (Jejomar Binay, Rodrigo Duterte, Grace Poe, Mar Roxas and Miriam Defensor Santiago) who will replace outgoing President Benigno Aquino. They will also elect the next vice-president, 12 senators, and a sectoral or party-list representative.
The number of registered Filipino voters worldwide stand at around 1.3 million and they are considered as a "swing vote" in the tight election.
According to Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes, Dubai tops the list among 85 Philippine diplomatic posts worldwide with 123,185 certified voters. He encouraged his kababayans (compatriots) to "send a strong message to policy-makers back home by actively participating in the elections."
Filipinos working abroad contribute around 8.5 per cent to the annual Philippine gross domestic product (GDP). UAE coordinator of Migrante-Middle East Nhel Morona said: "Voters should carefully scrutinise who among the candidates, particularly the presidential aspirants, have a clear programme for the protection and welfare of Filipinos abroad."
Morona noted that from January to November last year, Filipinos overseas contributed US $22.83 billion to the Philippine economy. Of this amount, $1.581 billion came from Filipinos in the UAE, which is the third biggest source of remittance after the US and Saudi Arabia.
"We are considered as modern-day heroes but we sometimes find our government negligent of our welfare," said Morona.
He noted as an example the case of a Filipina mother reported recently in Khaleej Times.

The mother worked as an illegal maid and has been in coma for three weeks at a private hospital in Dubai after suffering from intracranial haemorrhage. The mother left her daughter alone, who is now under the care of the Philippine consulate.
Morona said: "the mother stayed in Dubai and worked illegally because she could not find a suitable job back home. This is just one of the many cases of Filipinos taking the risk of working abroad and this has to stop because working overseas should be a choice and not a necessity."
Another Filipino expat Ion Gonzaga said the safety and security of his family back home is the main consideration why he is choosing a particular candidate known for his record of taking down criminal elements in his city.
"We've been working overseas for too long and we only see few positive changes in our country," Gonzaga told Khaleej Times. "We can't help but compare the Philippines to the UAE where there's security. But when we retire, we will definitely return to our home country and we want to see that we are free from being robbed or kidnapped. Can you imagine how progressive our economy would be if peace and order are in place?," said Gonzaga.
angel@khaleejtimes.com