Statement: On the Delay in the Mailing of Some Ballots to Overseas Voters

26 April 2019 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through its Embassies and Consulates General, endeavors to ensure a smooth voting process for qualified overseas voters, including opening its doors during weekends and holidays for the month-long voting exercise. For the 2019 Senatorial and Party List Elections, the DFA employs two ways of overseas voting: (1) Personal voting, where the voter will go to the Philippine Embassy and Consulates General to cast his or her vote, and (2) Postal voting, wherein the Embassy and Consulates General send the official ballot to the voter, who then mails it back to the diplomatic post. The Embassies and Consulates General that were allowed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to use postal voting have already mailed official ballots to the voters' latest registered addresses, within the timeline set by the COMELEC.

DFA is confident that COMELEC will be able to provide the necessary resources to enable an honest, fair, and credible elections overseas.

In the interest of time, the DFA has authorized the concerned Foreign Service Posts to advance the cost of the remaining postage fees in order bridge the funding gap while awaiting the remittance from COMELEC.

The DFA will continue to coordinate with COMELEC to fast-track the process. For those who have not yet received their ballots, they are encouraged to get in touch with the Embassy or Consulate General where they registered as voters, or check the websites and social media pages of these diplomatic posts to see if their voting packets were returned to the Embassy or Consulate General.

Rest assured that the DFA and its Foreign Service Posts are doing everything they can to ensure that no overeseas Filipino, who is qualified to vote overseas, is deprived of the right to vote. END