Age is just a number: Online Voting for the 2025 PH National and Local Elections is for everyone!

New Election Tech meets Old School Patriots: Mr. Renato Dela Peña and Ms. Anita Dela Peña, both senior citizens, exercising their right and performing their civic duty at the COMELEC-issued kiosks at PCG Vancouver. (Photo by PCG Vancouver)

16 APRIL 2025, VANCOUVER, BC. Think Internet Voting is only for young, computer-savvy voters? Think again.

Last Tuesday, 14 April 2025, Mr. Renato Dela Peña and Ms. Anita Dela Peña came to the Consulate asking how to go about voting in the 2025 National and Local Elections as overseas voters. The enthusiastic, veteran overseas voters told the Special Board of Election Inspectors on duty that they had attempted to enroll using their PH passport several times, but had failed in all of their attempts.

When asked for IDs, the voters presented their old, expired passports issued back in the 1980s before they moved to Canada. The SBEI informed them that they can still enroll in the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) through manual verification and enrollment using this old passport together with the Identification Certificate that they were issued when they swore their Oath of Allegiance to the Philippines to reacquire their Filipino Citizenship.

Above: A specimen of the old brown PH passport, similar to what Renato and Anita Dela Peña used in their attempts to enroll in the OVCS using their own devices at home. PCG Vancouver’s Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) assisted them in the enrollment process when they went to the Consulate for assistance. (Photo taken from PCG Vancouver’s website)

The manual verification and enrollment took less than ten minutes, and the two voters asked to cast their votes right there and then.  After logging on to the OVCS Voting Portal ov.comelec.gov.ph/vote using the COMELEC-issued kiosk, they cast their votes for Senator and Party-List Representatives. The entire voting process took them less than 3 minutes.

When asked about their experience for this year’s elections, they said that the voting process was simple, quick, and easy. 

The voting period for registered overseas voters runs from 13 April up to 07 May, 4:00 AM Vancouver Time. In order to cast their votes online, registered overseas voters must enroll in the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) (ov.comelec.gov.ph/enroll) using their smartphone, laptop, or, tablet. Once enrolled, voters can start casting their vote online through ov.comelec.gov.ph/vote. Voters requiring assistance in the enrollment process may come to the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver from 9am to 5pm for the duration of the 30-day overseas voting period, including weekdays and holidays. For information, interested parties may reach out to overseasvoting@vancouverpcg.org.  END