Filipinos in Taiwan can still submit postal ballots for the Philippine presidential election in person, amid concerns over new voting arrangements, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said.
Following the closure of MECO’s Taichung extension office in December 2020, voters outside of Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Keelung, Hsinchu, Kaohsiung and Tainan have been registered as postal voters by default.
It is the first time that postal ballots have been used for Filipinos in Taiwan, with all voters previously required to submit their ballots in person at one of MECO’s offices.
Many voters have registered their displeasure with MECO online, citing reasons ranging from changed addresses to concerns about other people knowing who they voted for.
As a result, MECO is encouraging postal voters who wish to ensure their ballot is received correctly to visit the Taipei or Kaohsiung office in person and insert it into a designated drop box.
Postal ballots received by the office would be inserted into a vote-counting machine by an official from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) every Monday and Thursday, MECO said.
Postal ballots can be submitted until May 9, the day of the presidential election.
It is the position of MECO Chairman Wilfredo Fernandez that the previous voting arrangement, under which all ballots were submitted in person, should not have been altered, the office added.
A total of 72,779 Filipinos in Taiwan registered as overseas voters for this year’s presidential election, an increase of 31,319, or 76 percent, compared with 41,460 for the Philippine midterm elections in 2019, COMELEC data showed.
MECO Head Executive Assistant Maria Bettina Fernandez said that the increase in the number of registered voters is likely because a presidential election is being held this year.
“Filipinos are usually more motivated when the presidential and vice-presidential posts are up for grabs,” he said.
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