May 2013 | Vol . 3 No . 8 | Ang Kalatas Australia | www . kalatas . com . au News | 03
PHILIPPINE ELECTIONS 2013
Team P-Noy , UNA , or ‘ the others ’?
WILL they vote for pro-administration Team P-Noy candidates , the opposition UNA candidates or ‘ the others ’, candidates outside the two main political alliances but equally – if not more than – qualified to run for senators ?
That ’ s the question Filipinos in Australia registered as overseas absentee voters ( OAV ) can answer as they give their say in Philippine political affairs .
The 30-day voting period for overseas absentee voters is under way . Official voting for the OAV started on April 13 and will close on May 13 , by 3pm Philippine time .
“ I had received my official ballot and had sent it back by mail . I want my vote to be counted , it is still a worthy exercise ,” a 59-year old Pinoy based in Quakers Hill told Ang Kalatas .
“ There are a lot of names to choose from but I voted for the candidates with really good backgrounds ,” he said .
Australia-based voters are part of the estimated 980,000 Filipinos who will vote in different precincts around the world throughout the onemonth period .
The Philippines is all set for a general mid-term elections this month with voters electing twelve senators , their respective House representatives and local officials .
The senatorial elections see a long list of candidates for senators with many of them belonging to traditional political families . The pro-administration Team P-Noy candidates include frontrunner reelectionist senators Loren Legarda , Alan Peter Cayetano , and Francis Escudero and a member of the Aquino clan , Bam Aquino .
The UNA ( United Nationalist Alliance ) slate include those allied with the combined political machineries of VP Jejomar Binay , Joseph Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile . The candidates count the vice president ’ s daughter Nancy Binay , Estrada ’ s son JV Ejercito , and Enrile ’ s son Jack Enrile .
The COMELEC earlier this year put back over 200,000 absentee voters on the list . Voting in countries with a big number of Filipino voters will be done with automated machines . Voters registered in NSW can choose to cast their votes either by mail or by personal appearance at the Philippine Consulate in Sydney .
According to the Consulate , the ballot envelopes mailed directly by the COMELEC in Manila to the registered voters contain the official ballot , the paper seal , the official ballot envelope , the official list of candidates , and an instruction to voters .
As of this writing , the Consulate is still seeking contact with over 200 registered voters in Sydney who did not have , or had not updated , their respective mailing addresses .
Registered absentee voters in Australia who have not received their ballot envelopes can call 9285 8105 . For more details , visit www . philippineconsulate . com . au .
MANILA - Supporters of former Philippine president and candidate for mayor of Manila Joseph Estrada gather to show their support during his campaign launch in Manila . In typically colourful fashion , graft-tainted former Philippine president launched his campaign for mayor of Manila in what he described as his “ last hurrah ” in politics . The one-time movie actor , who turned 76 on April 19 , said he wanted to end his political career as the mayor of a city where he was born and in whose sprawling slums he remains hugely popular . Estrada is facing former ally Mayor Alfredo Lim in the electoral battle . AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS