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Only 10pc Filipinos cast their vote

The polls, which closed at 11am yesterday, drew lukewarm response from members of the Filipino community. In Dubai and the Northern Emirates, only 1,489 out of the 18,648 registered voters exercised their right to suffrage. The figures in Abu Dhabi, however, were slightly higher — 2,115 out of 16,856 registrants.

Philippine's Ambassador to the UAE Libran Cabactulan told Khaleej Times that the low turnout could be attributed to the Filipinos' lack of enthusiasm for this year's senatorial and congressional elections.

"In 2004, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) were more excited to vote since it was the presidential elections. This year, the interest had not been that high," Cabactulan said.

He added that after witnessing the trend a few days earlier, they requested the Catholic Church in Abu Dhabi last Friday to encourage parishioners to go to the embassy to vote. But only two voters heeded the embassy's announcement.

Philippine Consul-General in Dubai Antonio S. Curameng said the distance of the neighbouring emirates from the PCG in Al Ghusais could be one of the factors responsible for the poor turnout.

"Because the OAV used the personal voting system, which required voters to personally go to the voting precinct, the distance of the consulate in Dubai from other emirates could have discouraged them from participating in the elections," Curameng said.

On Sunday, a day prior to the deadline, 187 voters visited the PCG.

Anaceto Briones, one of the last to cast his ballot in Dubai yesterday, said he took out time to exercise his right to vote despite increased hesitation by his colleagues at work.

Briones said there are more than 100 Filipinos employed in the company he works for in Jebel Ali, but he was the only one who voted.

"They're not interested in voting because of the bad experience they had had in 2004. Some of them did not find their names in the list of voters while others were not issued voter's identification card," he explained.

Another last-minute voter, Rene Valdez, said most Filipinos have lost confidence in the Philippine government because of the existence of traditional politics. "People are tired of politicians who are just good at talking but lack action and true concern for the plight of Filipinos," he said.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Cabactulan said results of the Philippine OAV in the UAE will be disclosed to the media today.

• UAE