By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

THE absentee voting process for Philippine elections began Saturday and the Philippine Consulate urged certified Filipino voters on Guam to cast their votes “at the earliest opportunity” to avoid the rush during the last few days of voting.
The regular election date in the Philippines is scheduled for May 14, the same day that the one-month absentee voting process ends.
Up for grabs at the Philippine midterm elections are seats for the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as positions for governor, vice governor, provincial board seats and mayoral, vice mayoral, and city and municipal council seats in Metro Manila and the provinces.
According to the consulate, 500 Filipino and Filipino-American voters on Guam have been certified by the Philippine Commission on Election to participate in the Overseas Absentee Voting filed by Filipinos. The list of certified absentee voters is posted at the consular office in Tamuning and on the Comelec Web site.
The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 was enacted to ensure equal opportunity to all qualified citizens of the Philippines abroad in the exercise of their right to participate in the election of president, vice-president, senators and party-list representatives.
For Guam as with other places/countries where postal voting shall be adopted, ballots have been sent directly to the voters who are, in turn, expected to mail the accomplished ballots to the Consulate or deliver them personally to the office during the voting period.
The Consulate, which is normally open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday from Monday to Friday, will also be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends, to receive the ballots and entertain election-related queries.