Filipinos delaying absentee voting

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

Filipino citizens living in Hawai'i are waiting and watching before getting an absentee ballot for next year's national elections, judging by the trickle of people who turned out yesterday, the first day of voter registration.

Philippine consul officials in Hawai'i believe interest will surge far beyond yesterday's tally of about 30 registrations once a long-awaited dual-citizenship bill is enacted in the Philippines.

The bill would eliminate concern about a requirement that absentee voters pledge to return to the Philippines within three years.

"We got more phone calls today about (dual citizenship) than the absentee voting," said Arlene Gonzales-Macaisa, Philippine vice consul-general to Honolulu.

An estimated 7 million Philippine nationals live overseas. The number of absentee voters in Hawai'i has been projected at 10,000 to 50,000.

Gonzales-Macaisa, Honolulu's consul-general Rolando Gregorio and staffers at Philippine consulates and embassies worldwide have been deputized as elections officials so voters can sign the registry, including the intent-to-return affidavit, by the Sept. 30 deadline.

The affidavit is considered a disincentive for many voters, some of whom are seeking U.S. citizenship. The dual-citizenship bill would eliminate the need to sign the pledge form, Gregorio said.

He said the bill is in a congressional conference committee. Most observers believe it could emerge in six weeks, leaving about two weeks for absentee registration.

"The (Philippine) president has said as soon as it comes out of the committee she will sign it in 24 hours to enable a new group of voters to register," Gregorio said.

He acknowledged that might bring a crush of registrations; Filipinos have voter turnout rates around 90 percent.

That enthusiasm has worried some politicians in the Philippines: Overseas balloting confounds the ability to predict elections, Gregorio said.

"They won't know how those people will vote," he said. "These people would not be persuaded by the campaigning. They would be insulated from the usual circumstances that influence the election."

A bank of computers has been set up in the consulate to transmit registration information to Manila, but the votes cast in May will be counted locally, he said.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@ honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.