Comelec to prioritize issuance of voter's ID to Filipinos overseas

Comelec Chairman George Garcia speaks to reporters on Sept. 11, 2023. Screenshot from Tina Panganiban-Perez video

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to discuss the resumption of the issuance of voters’ identification cards to Filipinos overseas on Wednesday, its chairman George Garcia said.

“Kami po ay mag-uusap ngayong darating na Miyerkules sapagkat gusto muna natin, kung magbabalik tayo ng voters’ ID, sa ating kababayang abroad muna kasi hindi sila ganoon karami,” Garcia said in an interview on Unang Balita.

“Sa susunod, tsaka tayo magpapa-issue ng mga voters’ ID para sa ating mga kababayan dito naman sa Pilipinas, of course, depende sa budget na mabibigay sa atin ng Kongreso,” he added.

(We will discuss the possible issuance of voters’ ID on Wednesday. But if we will resume that, we will prioritize the Filipinos abroad because they are fewer than the registered voters in the Philippines. After that, we could resume the issuance of voters’ IDs for Filipinos here in our country, but that will depend on the budget that Congress will grant us.)

The voter registration started on Monday, February 12, and it will run until September 30, 2024.

All Comelec offices will hold activities to celebrate National Voter’s Day today to promote and encourage voter registration awareness.

At least three million Filipinos are expected to register nationwide.

To reach this number, the Comelec has partnered with several mall owners and operators to host the Register Anywhere Project (RAP) in around 170 malls nationwide. —KG, GMA Integrated News

This article Comelec to prioritize issuance of voter’s ID to Filipinos overseas was originally published in GMA News Online.