The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has defended its move to publish the Certified List of Overseas Voters (CLOV) online, clarifying that the action complies with Republic Act No. 10590, or the Overseas Absentee Voting Act.
This comes after the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU) criticized the Comelec for allegedly compromising data privacy by uploading the list, which includes full names, registration dates, and locations of overseas Filipino voters. The CPU described it as “a massive red flag.”
In response, the Comelec, through its Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan, slammed the allegations as “malicious and false.”
“Ang paglalathala ng Certified List of Overseas Voters sa website ay siya mismong itinatakda ng batas, at isa sa mga kinakailangan gawin ng COMELEC upang ipatupad ang RA No. 10590,” the poll body said in a statement.
It also emphasized that the law clearly requires the posting of voter lists in consular offices and official websites, citing Sections 8 and 20 of the said law.
“Ang pahayag na ang naturang online publication ng listahan ay hindi lamang malisyoso kundi mali at walang basehan sa batas,” the Comelec added.
Meanwhile, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said on Friday that only about 48,000 overseas Filipinos have enrolled for the 2025 elections out of the 1.2 million registered voters.
The enrollment process is needed to generate a unique code that allows overseas voters to access the online voting system. Internet voting will run from April 13 to May 12 (Philippine time), covering 77 diplomatic posts worldwide. Another 16 posts will use automated counting machines.
