A voter registration center embedded within the Commission on Filipinos Overseas is outpacing all other overseas registration sites across government agencies, the Commission on Elections has confirmed.
COMELEC Director III Jan Jordan Poon of the Office for Overseas Voting disclosed the figures during a hybrid forum held February 26 at the CFO’s main office in Pasay City. “We have a local field registration center here in CFO, na currently leading in terms of numbers [of registrants],” he said.
The forum, titled “Votes That Count: Overseas Voting Dialogue with the Filipino Diaspora,” was jointly organized by the CFO, the Department of Foreign Affairs through the Overseas Voting Secretariat, and the COMELEC Office for Overseas Voting. Government officials, diaspora leaders, civil society representatives, and overseas Filipinos participated in the discussion on electoral reforms and overseas voting participation.
Poon framed the push for broader overseas voter turnout in terms of economic contribution and political representation. “The overseas diaspora is one of the backbones of our economy—through their remittances and strategic investments in the Philippines—so it’s only right that they should participate in the elections so that they can also shape and influence policies that are relevant to them,” he said.
CFO Secretary Dante “Klink” Ang II opened the proceedings by reiterating the agency’s standing commitment to keeping overseas Filipinos engaged in domestic democratic processes.
The dialogue came as the Philippines continues rolling out electoral modernization measures. The country became the first in Asia to implement internet voting for overseas Filipinos, a system introduced in the 2025 elections. Registration at the CFO center remains open as part of preparations for the 2028 national elections.
