FILIPINOS who are citizens of other countries have right of suffrage both in the Philippines and in their host country.
However, for the rest of the global Filipinos who retained their Filipino citizenship, additional burdens are imposed before one can be registered as a voter.
The Department of Foreign Affairs? Commission on Overseas Absentee Voter office, through Philippine embassies and other posts abroad, had engaged in an active information campaign to register as many absentee voters for the May 2010 elections.
There was an August 31, 2009, deadline to register. With an ever-increasing population of overseas Filipinos, there was an expectation that many would register to participate in next year?s national election.
Major concerns
In the US, there are an estimated one million Filipinos. Of these, only about 29,595 have registered to vote. There are an estimated 8.5 million overseas Filipinos worldwide. Of these, only 201,328 have registered to vote. Only 2.3 percent of overseas Filipinos have registered.
There is no question that the Filipino immigrants in the US are interested in what happens to their homeland. They remain vested in the economic and political conditions of the Philippines. Many of their friends and relatives are still residing in the Philippines; and, their patriotism remains alive.
However, there may be serious concerns about the low registration turnout of overseas Filipinos.
Legal requirements
First, the Affidavit or Declaration of Intent to Return is still a requirement to register. This means that immigrants (who are not yet US citizens) must execute an affidavit that he will return to the Philippines no later than three years from approval of his/her voter registration.
A Filipino immigrant in the US will not execute this affidavit as it is contrary to his/her resident status in the US. Unless that person is ready to retire and resume domicile in the Philippines.
In an effort to encourage registration of overseas voters, there is a tendency to downplay the value of this affidavit. Training officers usually mention that this affidavit is just an indication of intention and not an enforceable obligation to return to the Philippines three years after execution of the declaration.
While it is true that it is simply an affidavit which is not enforceable, it still doesn?t make sense to execute a totally false declaration. Most immigrants will not sign a false statement simply to comply with an application process. Because many immigrants wait years and years to gain their immigrant status in the US, it doesn?t make sense to declare they would to return to the Philippines within three years when they have no such intention whatsoever.
Clients are counseled by their lawyers to sign only a statement that is truthful and executed in good faith.
It seems contradictory for them to sign an affidavit which may be a downright misrepresentation just to qualify as an overseas voter.
Dual citizens enjoy the benefit of waiving the requirement of the Affidavit of Intent to Return as per decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Nicolas-Lewis v. Comelec.
But for Filipino immigrants who are not yet US citizens, the residency requirement and execution of this affidavit is not waived.
Abandonment
The best route for the US immigrant who entered the US legally is to apply for US citizenship and then apply for dual citizenship. Only then will they qualify as overseas voters without the affidavit.
The immigration of Filipinos to the US through family petitions is constantly increasing each year. There are always new immigrants who may not yet qualify for US citizenship because of their lack of eligibility requirements.
If they wish to be registered as an overseas voter, they would have to sign an Affidavit of Intent to Return. New immigrants definitely do not have that intention to return to the Philippines within three years.
It must also be worth mentioning that abandonment of resident visa status in the US is a very sensitive matter if one is confronted at the port of entry by the immigration officer. Like the requirement for overseas voter, the ?intention? of the immigrant is also key in determining whether the immigrant is still considered in status as a legal permanent resident. The trip of the immigrant from the US must be with the ?intention of returning and not abandoning residency in the US.?
Signing an Affidavit of Intent to Return is definitely a ground to rescind the green card of an immigrant. This is just too much to risk by executing this affidavit to return to the Philippines for immigrants who are not yet US citizens.
Shadow population
Based on a study made in the US, there was an increase of at least 40 percent of unauthorized immigrants in the US from 2000 to 2006. This means that if these immigrants have not found a way to legalize their status in the US, the number of Filipinos who are unauthorized immigrants in the US is significantly alarming. These Filipinos who are part of the shadow population are concerned with the political situation in the Philippines and for obvious reasons they do not come out of the shadows to register as overseas voters.
These are the immigrants who will not sign any documents and are even fearful of extending or renewing their passports. Many Filipinos from the shadow population did not go out to register as overseas absentee voters even if they were not required to execute the affidavit to return.
Capital infusion
Even with a few registered overseas voters, it does not necessarily mean they are not empowered to influence the result of the election. At this time, 98 percent of the overseas workers believe their power is still in ?capital infusion? to the homeland and not in overseas absentee voting.
These are just two of the issues of concern to immigrants about the process of registering as an absentee voter.
In any case, legislators who may be upset about the outcome of low registration turnouts should not spend more time investigating the low turnout of overseas voters. Cost and efforts exerted on overseas voters should be redirected toward more productive projects benefiting the common good.
