By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
Citing the results of the overseas voting, leaders of Filipino organisations in Qatar have described Filipino voters abroad as credible, matured and honest. |
Jhin Tabuzo, founder and adviser of the United Architect of the Philippines (UAP) Qatar chapter, told Gulf Times that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) voted genuinely according to the track record and integrity of the candidates.
Chiz Escudero garnered 1,651 votes to take the top spot. Peter Cayetano (1,547) was placed second followed by Grace Poe (1,477). The rest included Loren Legarda (1,449), Koko Pimentel (1,407), Risa Hontiveros (1,338), Dick Gordon (1,325), Bam Aquino (1,227), Antonio Trillanes (1,217), Juan Edgardo Angara (1,156), Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. (1,115), and Edward Hagedorn (1,037).
Meanwhile, the OFW Club, Migrante and Alyansa ng OFW Party topped the party-list results.
The special board of election inspectors on Monday disclosed that about 2,374 of the 23,260 registered Filipino voters in Qatar participated in the month-long overseas voting for the Philippine mid-term elections.
Tabuzo believes that the last election will be the most credible election if only the votes of all OFWs will be counted as “true winning votes”.
“OFW votes were based on change of politics in our country, we were not influenced thru media mileage, election money of the candidates and we were miles away from them,” he said.
He added that the likes of Hontiveros, Poe and Trillanes solidify what kind of voters OFWs are. “The results show the combination of youth and principled winners.”
Lamenting the loss of Hontiveros in the official commission on elections (Comelec) in the Philippines, Tabuzo said OFW voters are intelligent and principled.
Jehmar Tabili, president of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Qatar chapter, also shares the same view.
He noted that based on the result of the overseas voting in Qatar, and probably in other countries, many OFWs seem to be wise and credible voters.
“I voted based on the candidates’ accomplishments and track record. Beforehand, I made my own research on the Internet and scanned their profiles, their educational attainment,” he said.
Some of the candidates he voted were not as popular as others but have accomplished many things for the country.
Like Tabuzo and Tabili, the president of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE-Qatar) also has similar remarks.
Arnel Punsalan was not surprised that a newbie like Nancy Binay was not on the top 12 in Qatar. In the national tally, Binay was even on the 6th place.
But many OFWs and even political observers in the Philippines were surprised that Hontiveros did not make it on the top 12.
“This only shows that since most OFWs are stable financially, they do not rely on the support coming from politicians unlike our poor countrymen,” Punsalan said.
Another OFW, Marylie Cabangan Bulan, also lauded her fellow expatriate workers for choosing the right leaders for the country. She said absentee voters here in Qatar are indeed aware of the true essence of voting.
She hopes that OFWs in Qatar and the Filipinos back home have the same mindset. “But the people have spoken, let’s just pray that they’d be able to do the right thing for the benefit of all Filipinos,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Comelec disclosed that nine out of the 12 seats for Senators were won by the Liberal Party – the ruling party known as “Team PNoy”.