Abstract:
The paper initially takes an analysis at the concept of political
representation and defines a government as representative when the people are
present and active in government action. Representation allows the citizens of a
country to decide on and take part in the making of the fundamental laws of the
land. Modern representative nations places a premium on the people having an
active participation in the decision-making processes of the country. Direct
participation is exemplified through the citizens being able to elect and choose the
country’s top officials.
The 1935 Philippine Constitution declares the country as a Representative
Democracy and allocates power between the sovereign people and their
government. The Philippines having such form of a Representative government
empowers every Filipino with inherent political rights. These rights would include
the right of suffrage, or the right to vote, which allows the citizens to choose and
elect officials who they deem shall serve for their general welfare.
However, this right of suffrage is not extended to Filipinos temporarily
residing abroad. Though there is a provision in the 1987 Constitution providing
qualified Filipinos abroad with a system of absentee-voting. it had taken 3
Congresses before RA 9189 or the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 was
enacted to enable our kabuabayans abroad to choose the country’s top officials.
For years, there had been a continued disfranchisement of the 7.4 million
Filipinos overseas who have enormously contributed billions of dollars of
remittances to the country’s GNP.
The study would then take an examination on the history of absentee
voting and how it evolved in the Philippines. Furthermore, it aims to know the
perceptions of the Filipinos in general regarding the issue on whether absentee
voting should be implemented by the government. The view of overseas Filipinos
will also be probed to know their views on what motivated them to lobby for the
passage of absentee voting in Congress, as well as their recommendations on the
said process. To have a balanced view. proper authorities on the topic are
consulted to have a clearer understanding of what absentee voting is all about.
The implementation of absentee voting shall be largely affected by several
issues, and significantly by the political behavior and viewpoint of overseas
Filipinos whose call for representation is assumed to be answered by the
enactment of RA 9189. Furthermore, the method of absentee voting is considered
to be an innovation in Philippine elections. and would ultimately produce either a
positive or an adverse impact on the country’s electoral process. It is imperative
that all these factors be systematically examined in the context of absentee voting.
