Overseas voter turnout on first day in Madrid, poor; experts say cheating in online voting, easy

By Jeona Tambalong

Madrid, Spain – The Philippine embassy in Madrid reported low voter turnout on the first day of overseas voting in its three designated voting centers inspite of preparations and outreach efforts.

Three voting centers are provided in Madrid to FIlipinos who need assistance in pre-enrollment and voting online.  [Photo by Jeona Tambalong]

“Good news po ay sa buong Europe ay number two tayo sa Madrid sa dami ng mga nag-enroll, pero ang bad news po, napakaliit ng turnout. Yung huling report ay wala pang 4 percent — lagpas lang tayo ng konti sa normal average,” Consul Eric Villanueva told Pinoy Portal Europe.

According to Villanueva, only 85 or around 10 percent of 830 Filipinos enrolled in online voting cast their votes last April 13. There are 15, 285 registered voters in Philippine Embassy in Madrid. 

Pinoy Portal Europe observed that between 10 am and 2 pm, only four votes were cast.

Meanwhile, some IT professionals said that doubts raised about the security of internet voting may be real.

Overseas voting for the 2025 Philippine mid-term elections is currently ongoing in the embassy in Madrid with three designated voting centers: The Philippine Embassy, the Office of Defense Attaché (ODAFA), and the Migrant Workers Office (MWO).

Filipino voters in Madrid await their turn to enrol and cast their vote. [Photo by Jeona Tambalong]

Out of approximately 15,000 registered voters under the embassy's jurisdiction, around 800 have completed the required online pre-enrollment as of April 13, 2025. 

Photography and video recording inside the voting area are strictly prohibited in compliance with Comelec guidelines.

Consul Villanueva, along with Executive Officer Chester Diaz, and Jocena Bólido, a member of the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI), were in the embassy to oversee the voting process and assist those who need help navigating the system.

A staff member of the Philippine Embassy in Madrid assists a Pinoy resident with online pre-enrollment for overseas voting.  [Photo by Jeona Tambalong]

Authorities are facing challenges from some Filcom members who have cast doubts on the security of ballots in internet voting.

Zenaida L., originally from Davao City, said, “nahirapan kami sa pagrehistro kasi hindi madaling pumasok yung password — hindi kagaya ng kabataan ngayon na magagaling na sa paggamit ng cellphone.” 

“Ang problema ay bakit internet? Natatakot sila baka ma-scam o ma-peke.  Masayang lang ang boto ko. Kaya may agam-agam din ako na bumoto kasi malaking bagay ang isang boto,” Marie Campańa also shared to PPE.

Two IT professionals that PPE talked to, confirmed fears of possible cheating in online voting.

“Yung pandadaya sa online voting, it is not only possible, but also easy. Kahit sabihing encrypted yan, puwede pa ring ma-manipulate. Puwedeng iba ang i-print na resibo mo kasi puwedeng ibang code yun, pero internally puwedeng iba ang code ng votes. Unless i-open source nila ang code, maraming Pinoy ang kayang tingnan yan,” IT professional Jason R. told PPE.

He added that even after a code review, “puwede pa ring dayain yun kasi pag-kino-compile niya na, puwedeng ibahin niya. Kasi puwedeng ibang copy yung pina-code review at ibang copy ang iko-compile. Wala akong tiwala sa online voting, kasi alam ko yung kakayahan ng pandaraya."

Another IT professional, Izzy Palo said he is concerned that the method to verify voters is “prone to impersonation.” 

“Kahit sino puwede mag-verify basta may valid ID kahit di naman ikaw yun? How would they know na yung person mismo ang bumoboto? Baka mamaya ibang tao pala bumuto doon,” Palo added.

He added that “wala akong trust sa COMELEC sa paghandle na ganyan kasi prone sa hacking ang networks yung pnline voting unless okay yung vendor nila nung online system.”

“Ang kulang sa Pilipinas is yung trust sa system, like how would you trust online voting if the institution itself is questionable? So mahirap mag-work yung online voting diyan. Yung mismong electronic voting nake-question eh. Paano pa kaya ang online?” Palo further added.

The Comelec in a statement April 14, allayed fears of insecure online voting and maintained that “nakakatiyak ang bawat botante sa integridad ng sistema, ang wastong pagkakabasa ng bawat balota at ang tamang pagbilang ng mga boto na nakapaloob dito, kasama na ang kaakibat na voting data.”

In Italy, Migrante Bologna also expressed concern over the low pre-enrollment in overseas voting citing a report of the Philippine Consul General in Milan that only 400 enrolled to vote as of April 11, of the more than 19,000 registered voters in Northern Italy.

The group also noted that voters encountered issues such as difficulty in accessing the enrollment link, repetitive taking of biometrics, need for some voters to get human approval of COMELEC and inability of some voters to vote specially those on vacation in the Philippines.

A staff member of the Philippine Embassy in Madrid explains the process of pre online enrolment for overseas voting a Pinoy resident with online pre-enrollment for overseas voting.  [Photo by Jeona Tambalong]

Migrante Bologna Chairperson Gene De Jesus is concerned that the low turnout on pre-voting enrollment, “posibleng haharap tayo ng pinakamalalang disenfranchisement sa kasaysayan ng Overseas Absentee Voting dahil sa sari-saring problema at reklamo ng ating mga kababayan. 

Overseas voting started last April 13 and will continue until May 12, 2025.

The 2025 elections will be the first time that internet voting will be used in the Philippines in 77 posts in different countries. 

In the 2022 elections, only 40.59 percent or around 600,000 out of 1.967 million registered Filipino voters abroad, were able to vote in person or sending their ballots through the post.

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