Why are we, the more than 7 million overseas Filipinos, determined to reclaim our
right to vote? Advocates are quick to point out that, crisis after crisis, we have become
the lifeline thrown at the country's drowning economy. Every year we remit an estimated 7
billion dollars through the banking system. Every year we pump probably 7 billion dollars
more by personally bringing in cash or through padala. Indeed, we
weathered the Asian economic storm better than our neighbors largely because of the direct
economic benefits of decades of massive and, for many broken families, heartrending
diaspora of our workers. Overseas Filipinos create a growing middle class and build a more
stable Philippine economy by investing hard-earned savings in a variety of industries,
including transportation, real estate, housing, construction, information technology,
banking, insurance, education, aviation, and manufacturing. Our role as economic saviors
or, according to the government, as "modern-day heroes" should be enough reason
to entitle us to political rights as basic as suffrage.
But we are not asserting our right to vote only in the context of our economic
value and as a matter of political quid pro quo. Beneath the simmer of our
resentment is a raging desire to be recognized and treated as full-fledged Filipino citizens,
not as an apolitical constituency easily made giddy by patronizing labels and by the
welcome-home-modern-day-hero drama at NAIA. Many of us have never renounced our allegiance
to the Philippine flag and have no intention of doing so. Modern technology (the Internet,
cable and satellite TV, affordable telephone services—especially
texting) has allowed us to follow national news not just as passive observers but as
active participants. More than 90 percent of the approximately 3 million daily
hits recorded by the leading news site in the Philippines are generated by Filipinos
abroad. On numerous interactive sites, thousands of reader comments and reactions to
events and issues are made by concerned Filipinos worldwide. Clearly, we have a large
overseas Filipino community showing active interest in the country's welfare, making two
of our major Manila-based online dailies —together with the likes of CNN.com and NYTimes.com—among the
top-ranked newspaper sites in the world.
Is our physical absence sufficient reason to strip us of our Filipino citizenship?
Certainly not with our remarkably strong connection to the homeland! But what is
citizenship without the fundamental right to vote? Recognizing the grave injustice of
disenfranchising Filipino citizens outside the country, the 1987 Philippine
Constitution requires Congress to pass a law that will enable overseas Filipinos to cast
their ballots. It has been 14 years since the Constitution enshrined that mandate, and
still there is no such law! Related bills made it to the legislative mill, only to be
smothered by parochial bickerings and outright indifference. Ultimately, the bills were
left for dead in the cobwebbed archives of Congress. The last two reincarnations (HB 10720
and SB 1746) reached committee level, only to be killed in the cross fire of the recent
political scandals.
The greatest social struggles in the history of mankind culminated in political
milestones, often characterized by an end to disenfranchisement: the toppling of tyrants,
the freeing of slaves, the granting of the right to vote. In the U.S., voting rights were
first restricted to propertied white males. Ultimately, everyone —the poor, the
Blacks, and women—became part of America's electoral process. Since World War II, the
U.S. has also allowed overseas voting as a matter of fundamental right. About 40 other
countries—including Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland,
Australia, Italy, Spain, India, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, South Africa, Senegal,
Bosnia, Croatia, Armenia, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia—treat their
people abroad as full-fledged voting citizens. The Philippines, regardless of our
reputation as a uniquely dynamic democracy, is chugging along the voting rights path and
has so far failed to catch up.
Will we, the more than 7-million-strong modern-day heroes, allow our calls for
political enfranchisement to be ignored again and again? Absolutely not! Tokenism and the
politics of hollow promises are guaranteed to unite us in a tight knot of
anti-establishment anger. We do what we can to help the still fragile Philippine economy.
We never stopped caring about our people. If the Filipino diaspora has been a centrifugal
force that has hemorrhaged our pool of talents, we want to be part of a reversal. Marry
modern communications technology with the political inclusion of the many capable and
hardworking Filipinos around the world, and we open a vast network of talents. But there
is something more fundamental than the practical consequences of our political
enfranchisement. We, uprooted primarily by the merciless and indiscriminate force of
economic necessity and in many cases transplanted to the loneliest and most desolate
corners of the globe, continue to cling to our proud claim to Filipino citizenship. We
deserve to keep our fundamental rights and dignity as citizens. We deserve our inalienable
right to vote!
WE, FILIPINO CITIZENS AROUND THE WORLD, URGE IN THE STRONGEST TERMS POSSIBLE
PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, MEMBERS OF THE ADMINISTRATION PARTY, THE OPPOSITION,
AND ALL PROSPECTIVE LEGISLATORS IN THE 12TH CONGRESS TO PRIORITIZE AND ENSURE THE
PASSAGE OF AN OVERSEAS VOTING LAW!
EMPOWER
Global Coalition for the Political Empowerment of Overseas Filipinos
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