By Jeanne Michael Penaranda

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has finalized the voting mode for 1.2 million Filipino overseas voters in 200 countries and territories, including internet voting in the United States and several Philippine posts for the 2025 elections.

Overseas Filipinos can vote for 12 senators and one party-list representative only starting April. 

In a minute resolution approved on Feb. 2, the commission said overseas voters in 36 countries and territories may vote either by mail or in person at 93 designated Philippine embassies or consulates general (PCGs) or, in the case of Taiwan, at branches of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco).

 Voting in person is the specified mode for those in East Timor, Fujian province in China under the PCG in Xiamen, the parts of China under the jurisdiction of the PCG in Shanghai, Türkiye, Nigeria, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tunisia. 

Postal voting will be the specified mode in the areas of China under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, the PCGs in Chongqing and Guangzhou, and Jiangxi province under the PCG in Xiamen.

 The same mode applies to voters in Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Myanmar, Northern Cyprus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia,Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Benin, Central African Republic, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Togo, Algeria and Chad. 

The rest of the overseas voters will cast their ballots online using an internet-based voting platform provided by the joint venture (JV) of SMS Global Technologies Inc. and Sequent Tech. 

 In May last year, the JV was awarded the Comelec contract for an online voting and counting system worth P112 million. 

Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia earlier said the poll body has to resort to either in-person or postal voting because several countries have policies disallowing online voting. 

 Garcia earlier said majority of Philippine posts overseas will be using Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) for the May 12 national and local elections.

Based on the final specific modes of overseas voting released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), a total of 77 out of the 93 posts abroad, including the United States, will be using the OVCS, which is initially being introduced in the upcoming midterm polls.

The system will be provided by the Joint Venture of SMS Global Technologies, Inc. & Sequent Tech Inc.

Garcia urged voters overseas to use the internet voting to take advantage of the its trial period.

“Try to test voting experience online to familiarize yourselves with this easy process,” he said.

The poll body noted that there are 16 Philippine embassies and consulates general that would use automated counting machines (ACMs).

These are in Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Xiamen in China; Dili in Timor Leste; Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea; Yangon in Myanmar; Ankara, and Istanbul in Turkiye; Moscow in Russia; Abuja in Nigeria; Beirut in Lebanon; Damascus in Syria; Tehran in Iran; and Tripoli in Libya.

The ACMs will be used either by personal or postal mode of voting.

“Our ACM units are easy to use. Don’t fail to vote. Voting experience is enhanced,” Garcia said.

There are a total of 1.180 million registered voters for the overseas voting process.

The overseas voting period for this year’s polls is set on April 13 until May 12. Voters will be choosing for national positions only — 12 senators and one party-list group.

Ballots cast in person or sent through mail will be counted in embassies, consulates and MECO branches by automated counting machines provided by the Comelec’s poll automation partner Miru Systems JV. 

Overseas voters may start casting their ballots from April 13 until May 12. They will be voting only for 12 senators and one partylist group. 

Data posted on the Comelec website showed that, as of Jan. 3, there are 1,241,690 overseas voters, 99 percent of whom are land-based. 

Of this figure, 805,358 are female and 436,332 are male. 

Most voters are in the Middle East and Africa with 453,502; followed by Asia Pacific, 383,392; North and Latin Americas, 259,415; and Europe, 145,381.