Taipei, May 14 (CNA) More than 2,400 Filipino workers in Taiwan cast their votes in the Philippines' midterm election Monday, the first time voting-by-mail has been allowed for the country's overseas workers, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said.
However, a rough count showed that just 12.9 percent of the 18,767 Filipino registered voters in Taiwan bothered to cast their votes, Carlo L. Aquino, overall coordinator for Philippines overseas absentee voting in Taiwan told CNA.
The Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) approved personal voting for the first time for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the 2004 election. This year marks the first time OFWs have been able to vote by mail, said Aquino.
"We didn't have the kind of turnout rate we would have liked though, "Aquino admitted, saying the turnout rate was probably because most OFWs in Taiwan are only allowed to go out one Sunday every month and do not have easy access to MECO offices.
In addition, due to registration and postal errors, some ballot packets were not sent to the correct addresses in Taiwan, Aquino added.
Aquino also encouraged Taiwan's legislation to pass its own absentee voting act to respect the basic civil right of every Taiwanese national.