Some employers preventing OFWs from voting —Comelec

Some overseas Filipino workers have been prevented by their employers from casting their votes during elections, an official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday.

During an interview on Balitanghali, Director Elaiza David of the Comelec Office for Overseas Voting explained this was a challenge monitored mostly in countries where many Filipinos are employed as domestic helpers.

"Marami po tayong bansang puwedeng i-identify, pero karamihan po ang nagkakaroon ng ganoong problema, especially po 'yung hindi pinapayagan ng amo, ay du'n sa lugar kung marami tayong mga domestic helpers kagaya po sa Middle East, sa Hong Kong...lugar  ng Asia," David told Balitanghali.

"Meron din pong parts ng Europe kung saan marami ang ating mga nakikitrabaho bilang domestic helper, doon  medyo malaki 'yung ganoong klaseng challenge," she added.

The absentee voting period for the 2019 midterm elections starts Saturday (April 13, 2019) and ends on election day (May 13, 2019).

At least 1.8 million registered Filipino voters abroad are expected to cast their ballots during the 30-day window. —Margaret Claire Layug/LDF, GMA News