MANILA, Philippines — An election watchdog group has appealed to the Commission on Elections to expand the sectors that will be covered by local absentee voting.
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) believes that expanding the coverage of the local absentee voting will help increase the voter turnout in the coming elections as this will guarantee a larger number of Filipinos being able to vote even before May 9, 2022.
“Palalawakin pa yong sectors na pwedeng bumoto including all our teachers na magsisilbi as our electoral boards. So pagpalagay natin during presidential election na ang voter turnout na aabot lang ng close to 70 percent ay umabot pa siya ng 80 percent,” said PPCRV trustee and secretary Dr. Arwin Serrano.
The local absentee voting is designed for those who are unable to go to the polling precincts on the actual day of the elections.
Among the sectors covered by the local absentee voting are members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, media, government officials and employees.
Voting will only be limited to national positions, including partylist representatives.
Serrano said they have already submitted their proposal to the Comelec and hope that this will be discussed during the en banc’s session.
Based on Comelec Resolution No. 10695, the last day of application for the local absentee voting is on March 7, 2022.
The voting period for absentee voters is from April 27 to 29. —/mbmf (from the report of UNTV Correspondent Dante Amento)
The post Election watchdog urges Comelec to expand coverage of local absentee voting appeared first on UNTV News.