Comelec starts 1st overseas online vote

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday started its monthlong internet voting for Filipinos overseas despite a challenge before the Supreme Court.

The high court, however, has not acted on the petition for a temporary restraining order, prompting the Comelec to push through with online voting, the first time it has done so.

Previously, Filipinos overseas could only vote via personal appearance at designated Philippine legations or through mailed ballots.

READ: 2025 polls: Comelec assures online overseas voting is ‘protected’

The official overseas voting period began at 8 a.m. on Sunday (Manila time) and will run for 30 days until 7 p.m. of May 12, the end of the voting period in the Philippines.

The first to cast their ballots were registered voters in New Zealand, under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Philippine Embassy, at 4 a.m. in Manila.

The last to begin their overseas voting will be the Filipinos in the Honolulu consulate in the United States at 2 a.m. on April 14 Manila time.

The 2025 elections will be the first time that internet voting will be used in the Philippines in 77 posts in different countries, including in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and European countries, according to Comelec Chair George Garcia.

Online voting portals for Filipinos in these posts will be open 24 hours, and votes can be cast using smartphones, computers, and tablets with internet connections.

Registered Filipino voters in the other 16 posts abroad, where an online voting and counting system (OVCS) is not allowed, will cast their votes in person at their respective embassies or consulates. These are in China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.

The OVCS, however, requires registered overseas voters to be “enrolled” as online voters.

1.4M voters overseas

Of the 1.241 million Filipino voters abroad, only 47,976—or less than 4 percent—have been enrolled in the prevoting enrollment system as of Sunday, according to Garcia.

Registered Filipino overseas voters may still sign up for the prevoting enrollment for internet voting until May 7 by visiting this link: ov.comelec.gov.ph/enroll.

The poll body sees online voting as a means to address the very low turnout of overseas absentee voting in the previous elections.

In the 2022 elections, only 40.59 percent or around 600,00 out of 1.967 million registered Filipino voters abroad, were able to vote either in person or by sending their ballots through the post. The Comelec spent about P600 million for the exercise.

A petition earlier filed by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan and their allies urged the Supreme Court to temporarily stop the voting as it considered questions about four Comelec resolutions for the online overseas voting.

But Garcia stressed that the poll body is authorized by Republic Act No. 10590, or the Overseas Voting Act of 2013, to explore other modes or systems of automated election.

As of Friday, April 11, Garcia said only 48,000 overseas Filipino voters have enrolled in the prevoting enrollment system for the 2025 polls.

(2025/04/14-05:20)