MANILA, Philippines – More than 20 years since the first Philippine election that included overseas citizens, migrant Filipinos will be allowed to cast their votes online.

The 2025 elections are particularly special for migrants as the plan of the Commission on Elections to implement online voting is in full swing. This will be the first time that migrant Filipinos will be able to cast their votes online.

Registration is ongoing for Filipinos who are or will be abroad during the month-long period of overseas voting in the 2025 elections. Registration started on December 9, 2022, and will end on September 30, 2024.

Overseas voters may include overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), permanent migrants, and dual citizens.

The Comelec hopes to raise voter turnout among migrant Filipinos with the new mode. Previous elections have used in-person voting at embassies, consulates, and other Philippine posts, as well as postal voting, which requires registered Filipinos to mail in their ballots. These two other modes will still be retained.

Here’s how to register as an overseas voter, based on Comelec’s Resolution No. 10833.

Eligibility and requirements

Filipino citizens or dual citizens who are abroad, or will be abroad, during the 30-day voting period, from April 13 to May 12, 2025, are eligible to vote, provided they 18 years old by April 13, and are not disqualified by law.

The following can disqualify a migrant Filipino from voting, according to the Comelec:

• Loss of Filipino citizenship
• Renouncing of Filipino citizenship or pledging allegiance to a foreign country (except dual citizens)
• Conviction in a final judgment by a court or tribunal of an offense punishable by imprisonment of not less than one year
• A previous declaration of insanity or incompetency by a competent authority in the Philippines or abroad

Eligible Filipinos must bring their passport to register. In the absence of one, you will need a certification from the Philippine post, like your local embassy or consulate, that:

• The post has reviewed documents you submitted and found them sufficient to warrant the issuance of a passport; or
• You have a valid Philippine passport but cannot produce it for a valid reason.

For dual citizens without passports, you will need:

• Original or certified true copy issued by the post of the Order of Approval of their application to retain or reacquire their Filipino citizenship; or
• Identification Certificate issued by the post

Seafarers who don’t have a valid passport can present their Seafarer’s Identification Record Book (Seafarer’s Book) or their Seafarer’s Identity Document.

In registering, aspiring Filipino voters must appear in person, fill out the OVF 1 form, and have their biometrics captured. The OVF 1 form is used for registration, transfer, change of name and address, and other services overseas Filipino voters may need.

Where to register

Once you find that you are eligible and have the necessary requirements, you may proceed to any Philippine post abroad – Philippine embassies, consulates, and or Manila Economic and Cultural Offices (in Taiwan) – or designated registration centers, as approved by the Comelec.

The following are the local field registration centers in the Philippines. They are open Mondays to Saturdays, including holidays (except March 28, 29, and 30), from 8 am to 5 pm:

• Comelec Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) Extension Office, Intramuros, Manila
• Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Consular Office NCR, Robinsons Galleria, Pasig City
• DFA Office for Consular Affairs, ASEANA Business Park, Parañaque City
• Department of Migrant Workers, Mandaluyong City
• Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Quezon City
• Maritime Industry Authority Central Office, Port Area, Manila

Meanwhile, satellite registration for overseas Filipinos is offered at the following. We will update this page as more information comes in:

• Magsaysay Maritime Corporation, 520 TM Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila
• AMOSUP Seamen’s Center, Cabildo St., Intramuros, Manila
  • May 9-10
• OFW Party List’s Tulong at Serbisyo Center, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Parañaque
  • April 25, 10 am to 5 pm
• C.F Sharp Crew Management Inc., 290 Casa Rocha Bldg., General Luna St., Intramuros, Manila
  • April 18-19
  • May 30-31
  • June 20-21
  • July 18-19

Migrant Filipinos who are registered abroad, but will be in the Philippines by the 2025 election, can transfer their registration to their local areas by approaching their local Office of the Election Officer in the city, municipality, or district where the overseas voter intends to vote in the Philippines.

Online services

Overseas Filipinos who are already registered with complete biometric data may avail of the Comelec OFOV’s Virtual Frontline Service (VFS) for the following applications:

• Transfer (post to post, or country to country)
• Reactivation of Overseas Voter Registration Record (OVRR)
• Reinstatement of names inadvertedly omitted from the National Registry of Overseas Voters (NROV)
• Change of address
• Correction of entries or change of names

The Comelec has yet to release more information about the specifics of online voting.

For other overseas registration concerns, contact the Comelec OFOV:

• Phone numbers
  • +63 (02) 8660 7449
  • +63 (02) 8584 8510
• Email: ov.concerns@comelec.gov.ph
• Messenger: m.me/overseasvotingph
• Address: OFOV Extension Office, Philippine Red Cross Manila Chapter, Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila

– Rappler.com