00:00Kobelec went to South Korea to guide Filipinos there on the new way of voting online
00:06and to observe the mass production of vote counting machines for the 2025 elections.
00:12This is what surprised Luisa Erispe.
00:17Joe Mar, an overseas Filipino worker, has been in South Korea for 7 years.
00:21But for him, in order to show that he is still a Filipino,
00:25he still votes during the elections.
00:27That's why even if it's a 3-hour trip from Gwangju to Seoul,
00:32he does it just to vote.
00:35But now, he's more excited to vote when he knows that there's already internet voting.
00:39It's more convenient for us FWs
00:42and it's also good for our countrymen who are undocumented and are afraid to go out.
00:47So for me, it's accessible.
00:50I just hope that the votes will be secure.
00:53Jaya, who has also been in South Korea for a few years,
00:56has already admitted that she will abstain from voting during the elections
00:59because the OFWs here have a scheduled work schedule.
01:03But because of the internet voting,
01:05even her Filipino friends in South Korea are begging her to vote.
01:09I think more people will have a chance to vote
01:13because we are busy here at work.
01:16And if they still intend to go to MSC to vote,
01:21they will have a hard time.
01:23According to the Commission on Elections,
01:25here in South Korea,
01:26this is the first time that they had voter education
01:29so that the OFWs will know that they can vote using their gadgets online.
01:35And just like how Filipinos are eager to vote in Korea,
01:38Comelec said that he hopes that more people will register and vote.
01:44During the 2022 elections,
01:46out of the 6,757 Filipinos in Korea,
01:50only 2,700 voted.
01:52What we will do is massive information dissemination
01:57and the reason why we are here in South Korea.
02:00We will also do that in different parts of the world.
02:03But some OFWs are still confused.
02:06Will their system be secured?
02:09How will they not be hacked?
02:11Or will the voting system lag during the elections?
02:15And most of all, will their votes be counted?
02:18Comelec said that the system will go through three biometrics.
02:22That's why their votes will be counted.
02:24The fear of our countrymen,
02:27don't worry,
02:28we will do everything we can to secure their votes
02:33and make it verifiable and number two, auditable.
02:36Meanwhile, aside from the security issue,
02:39one of the reasons why some Filipinos in Korea
02:42did not register is because they have a lot of TNT or undocumented.
02:46But the Embassy and Comelec said that
02:49they are ready to issue papers and register Filipinos abroad.
02:54That's why we are encouraged to fix their state
02:59as much as possible within the guidelines,
03:06process, and laws of the host country.
03:09We are also continuing to consult our counterparts
03:13in the government of other countries like Korea
03:17to fix this situation.
03:20Maybe that's what they are afraid of,
03:22that if they register,
03:24that will be the reason, the trigger
03:26of their departure from a country like Korea.
03:30What we are saying is, don't worry,
03:33the voting system and their status will be different.
03:37Here in South Korea,
03:38there are 60,000 documented and undocumented Filipinos.
03:42But only a few of them voted and registered.
03:46But the Commission on Elections said,
03:48because of the internet voting,
03:49they are hoping that more Filipinos abroad
03:53will be able to vote in the election.
03:54From Busan, South Korea,
03:57Luisa Erispe for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
