Filipinos in UAE urged to 'come vote' in 2016 Philippine elections

DUBAI: A top Filipino government official in Dubai is urging his fellow countrymen to make an effort and get involved in the country’s 16th presidential elections next month.

The nationwide poll is scheduled in the Philippines on May 9 but some 1.37 million expatriates who beat the October 31 deadline last year to register as overseas absentee voters will be able to cast their votes from Saturday, April 9 at 30 embassies and consulates worldwide until May 9.

“All those registered must come down and do their bit by voting, so their voices are heard,” Giovan Palec, deputy consul general in Dubai told XPRESS this week ahead of the Oversees Absentee Voting at the Consulate.

According to Palec, 12 electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been set up at the voting centre that will cater to the 122,000 registered voters from Dubai and the northern emirates.

The voters will elect not just the country’s president but also the vice president, 12 senators and party-list groups who represent various sectors.

“It’s a really long list and just so that the process is smoother, voters are requested to keep the names of their candidates handy and don’t wait until the last minute as we close the booth here in Dubai at 1pm on May 9 according to Philippines time,” Palec told his countrymen.

Social media war

Meanwhile most opinion polls conducted in the country since January 10 - the start of the election period – place independent candidate Grace Poe as the front runner, only slightly ahead of the current vice-president Jejomar Binay, Rodrigo Duterte and Mar Roxas.

However many registered voters in Dubai who XPRESS spoke to said they saw another independent candidate Duderte, known as ‘The Punisher’ for his zero tolerance policy against criminals as a city mayor, as their 16th president. “He is the man who will lead our fight against crime and corruption as a country. He gets my vote as a result,” said Kasheer, a sales and marketing executive from Luzon who will be voting for the first time as an overseas voter in his six years in Dubai.

“He is definitely the dark horse of this election because he is a hot topic in every social media circle here in Dubai and even elsewhere. For his rough and tough image many have even started seeing him as the Dirty Harry of Filipino politics, one who does not hesitate to cross professional and ethical boundaries in pursuit of his own justice, especially in a country like ours where the law is often poorly served by bureaucracy and widespread corruption,” said a graphic designer from Mindanao island that’s home to Davao City where Duderte served as a mayor for over 22 years.

“Everybody knows how Duterte during his seven terms there turned the city from the murder capital of our country to the most peaceful city of Southeast Asia. Now it’s time for him to change the whole country,” said mum of two Jenny Del Valle, 41, from Bicol who will also be voting for the first time in her eight years in Dubai as a nurse.

However, not all are charmed by the lawyer-turned-politician. “He can be a maverick at time but Mar Roxas is far more stable as a politician and he represents the same administration that is in power. If he stays, it will a continuation of the progress we have made over the last six years under president Aquino and I am happy with it,” said Oliver, a 33-year-old insurance specialist from Cavite who has been living in Dubai for seven years. “The war here in Dubai however is between the two camps,” he added.

This year’s election will be the fifth time since 2004 when Filipinos living and working abroad will exercise their franchise.