THE House of Representatives approved on final reading Wednesday a bill seeking to expand the options for registration and voting for Filipinos abroad.

Voting 188 against 0, the chamber approved House Bill (HB) No. 10178 amending the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003, as amended.

“The bill aims to make voter registration and voting easier and more accessible for Filipinos overseas so that we can ensure the efficient exercise of their constitutional right to suffrage,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said.

“The proposed legislation allows the registration, certification and transfer of registration of overseas voters by mail or by electronic means, including but not limited to web-based portals, and other internet-based technologies,” he added.

Once enacted into law, the measure would also authorize electronic voting as an option for overseas voting apart from in-person and mail-in.

HB 10178 also seeks to remove the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee’s approving authority after review to allow voting by mail in an overseas territory.

It also expands the prohibited acts under the law to include theft, concealment, alteration, destruction, mutilation, manipulation, and tampering of electronic data or information.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco