Internet voting still a go in Thailand, says Comelec

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said that internet voting will proceed for overseas Filipino voters in Thailand despite a massive earthquake that hit the country last week.

“Sa Thailand, walang problema. Mahigit 8,000 ang ating mga botanteng kababayan dun and therefore, mag i-internet voting pa rin sa kanila,” Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia told reporters.

(There is no problem for Filipino voters in Thailand. There are over 8,000 voters there and therefore, we will proceed with the online voting.)

“May nararamdaman na aftershocks but at the same time, stick pa rin sa kung ano talaga ang dapat na paraan ng pagboto,” he said.

(There are aftershocks but at the same time, we will still have online voting.)

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, leaving at least 2,065 individuals dead. More than 3,900 were injured and at least 270 were missing. The powerful tremors caused damage in other neighboring countries including Thailand.

Garcia said postal voting will push through for the 320 overseas Filipino voters in Myanmar.

“Hindi internet voting ang gagawin natin kundi postal voting. Nakausap na natin ang embahada ng Pilipinas sa Myanmar at sinabing walang problema sa imprastruktura. Sila naman ay maayos ang kalagayan at properly accounted ang 300 na mga Filipinos sa Myanmar,” the poll chief added.

(We will conduct postal voting. We talked to the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar and they said they have no problems in their infrastructure. The 300 Filipinos are also all safe and accounted for.)

The poll body will begin delivering the election paraphernalia for the upcoming midterm elections on Friday, April 4. The overseas voting period will be from April 13 to May 12 (Election Day).

Of the 90 Philippine diplomatic posts, 77 will participate in the first-ever online voting and counting system (OVCS) and 16 will use automated counting machines (ACMs).

The pre-voting enrollment system for the OVCS is open from March 20 to May 7, 2025. A total of 17,323 voters have been enrolled in the system as of April 1, 2025.

“Inuulit ko po, sa mga kababayan natin sa abroad, nung isang linggo pa nagsimula ang registration natin. Sana magpa-enroll na tayo. Nandyan na ang link kung san kayo puwede magpa-enroll,” said Garcia.

(We urge Filipinos abroad to enroll in the pre-voting system. The links for the registration are up and running.)

“Hindi po kayo makakaboto kung hindi kayo enrolled,” he added.

(You cannot vote if you are not enrolled.)

Pre-voting system enrollment

Voters can do the pre-voting enrollment through their own internet-capable device, voting kiosks at the Philippine Posts, or the field/mobile pre-voting enrollment scheduled by the Philippine Post.

Voters should observe the following in the pre-voting enrollment:

• Sign up using the official link for pre-voting enrollment provided by the Comelec;
• Follow the instructions;
• Once the pre-voting enrollment is successful, the overseas voter can vote online during the 30-day overseas voting period.

Garcia earlier urged the 1.2 million Filipino overseas voters to pre-enroll, saying the OVCS will now accept all government-issued identification (ID) cards including passports, seaman’s books, driver’s licenses, and national IDs.

He also called on local voters to remind their relatives abroad to pre-enroll.

According to the Comelec, there are 69.6 million registered voters for the May polls, and of that number, 68.4 million are in the country while 1.2 million are overseas voters. —VBL, GMA Integrated News

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