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| Eman Villanueva being interviewed on Bilyonaryo Channel's 'On Point' |
Longtime Filipino community leader in Hong Kong, Eman Villanueva has warned that voters frustrated with the difficulty of navigating the new online voting system for Filipinos could lead to massive disenfranchisement.
Villanueva, who chairs Bayan Hong Kong and Macau, said in an interview on Bilyonaryo News
Channel on Wednesday that while, as a relatively techie person he managed to
finish voting in less than five minutes, he knew of many other voters who
experienced difficulty in the initial step, which is the enrolment process.
“Mabilis na
mag expire yong enrollment page, expired na bago mo mai-type ang OTP. Depende
din sa gamit na devices, iba-iba ang experience ng pag capture ng passport and
yong face recognition. Marami akong nakausap na it took them several tries bago
naging successful,” he told The SUN in greater detail.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
(The enrollment page expires easily. Often it
expires even before you finish typing your OTP <one time password>. It
could also depend on the kind of device used by the voter, their experience
varies in terms of passport capture or face recognition. I have spoken with
quite a number of people who had to try a couple of times before they succeeded
in doing this).
This was echoed by Marites Palma, founder of Social
Justice for Migrant Workers, in the same interview. She said it took her four
tries before she managed to put in the required OTP because she was using a
single device and had to switch pages to complete the process.
But she said she was still happier with online voting
as she did not have to queue up for hours at the lone voting center in Hong Kong
just to cast her ballot.
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| Marites Palma with 'On Point' host Gerg Cahiles |
However, she acknowledged that many other registered voters are not keen to vote, having heard that they still needed to enroll by verifying their identity before they could get on to the ballot page.
She said that her group no longer bothers to try to
convince these naysayers to change their minds and instead focus on those who
are willing to vote but need help in navigating the new system.
A pamphlet from
the Consulate which provides a step-by-step guide to online voting has helped
made this task easier, she said.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Villanueva said the “serious” lack of active information
dissemination and coordination with Filipino community groups has also
prevented many voters from realizing that they can no longer vote manually this
year, or that they need to pre-enroll to be able to vote.
“If this will not change, expect a massive
disenchantment among overseas Filipino voters,” said Villanueva. “If these
issues are not resolved, they could result in the failure of overseas voting
this election.”
But John Rex Laudiangco, spokesman for the Commission on Elections, said a little inconvenience should not deter Filipinos from taking part in the ongoing overseas voting.
“Huwag naman
sanang sumuko. Huwag naman sanang kapag nahirapan ay disenfranchisement (ang
sinasabi). Bakit? Maari namang humingi ng tulong. Ang ating mga embahada, ang
mga konsulada ay nakahandang tumulong…”
(Please don’t give up. Please don’t say there will
be disenfranchisement just because you encounter some difficulty. Why? You can
just ask for help. We have embassies or consulates that are willing to help).
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| John Laudiangco joined the show online |
Laudiangco told online voters they can go to the Philippine
consulate or embassy nearest them if they need help enrolling, or with casting
their votes. All overseas posts are also equipped with gadgets that voters can
use if necessary.
Of the nearly one million Filipinos abroad who are
registered to vote online, 69,000 have enrolled so far, said Laudiangco. He
assured that the system that is in place could accommodate a last-minute surge
in enrolment and voting, as what usually happens with overseas voters.
Online overseas voting began on Apr 13 and will last
until 7pm on May 12. Enrolment will, however, end on May 7.
Filipinos in Hong Kong who need help in enrolling as overseas voters may go to the OV wing of the OFW Global Centre on the 18th floor of United Centre building in Admiralty, on any day, including Sundays and public holidays, from 9am to 4pm.
