The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday, May 17, that it has approved internet voting for overseas Filipino voters for the 2025 elections. "We approved the policy direction and therefore we are now to prepare the roadmap for electronic voting for overseas Filipinos," Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in a message to reporters. The decision was through the approval of the Comelec en banc during its regular meeting. According to Garcia, they want to increase voter turnout which was only at a "dismal" 39 percent in the previous May 2022 polls which was also the highest in voter history. The poll body cited Section 16.11 of RA. No.9189 which allows them to study the use of electronic mail, internet, or other secured networks in the casting of votes of qualified Filipino voters. Comelec also used as the basis for its decision Section 28 of RA. No. 10590 giving them the power to explore other more efficient, reliable, and secure modes or systems, ensuring the secrecy and sanctity of the entire process, whether paper-based, electronic-based, or internet-based technology or such other latest technology available, for onsite and remote registration and elections. Section 23 of the same act granted Comelec the power to determine other alternative modes of voting. "Why are not so many overseas Filipinos voting personally or by mail? Maybe they need another mode," Garcia said. "It can be assumed that the Congress has yielded to the expertise and knowledge of the Commission in understanding the peculiarities attendant to the overseas voting process," Comelec said in a separate statement. To recall, overseas voters can only vote via postal voting, personal voting, or voting by seafarer. For, personal voting according to the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), casting of votes shall be for a period of 30 continuous days and citizens may check with the embassy or consular office in their respective countries to see where voting will be conducted. In postal voting, mailing packets containing the official ballots and voting instructions will be sent to voters through the postal service or picked up by the voters personally from the "Post" or other voting areas. During the voting period, seafarers may vote at any Post adopting personal voting, or in case of postal voting, at any Post, with international seaports as identified and recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs - Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS).