The Commission on Elections has set for Feb. 11, 2010 the organization of Special Boards of Canvassers (SBC) in each of the more than 100 countries where there are overseas Filipino workers qualified to vote under the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003.

Under the law, overseas absentee voters are qualified to vote for President, Vice President, Senator and groups accredited to participate in the party-list elections. They are, however, not qualified to vote for governor, congressman, mayor and other local elective officials.

The Comelec said that except in Singapore and Hong Kong, overseas absentee voting will be conducted manually by the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEIs) while the SBC, subject to reasonable exceptions, is mandated to complete the canvass of election returns submitted by SBEIs within 36 hours.

The SBC is required, after canvassing, to prepare eight copies of the Certificates of Canvass for President, Vice President, Senators and Party-List Representatives, according to Commissioner Armando Velasco, chairman of the Comelec Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting.

Velasco said the SBC will then immediately transmit the Certificates of Canvass to the Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting through the Department of Foreign Affairs via facsimile or other electronic mail facilities of the Philippine embassies or consulates, or through other means of transmission that are equally safe, secure and reliable.

The SBC is likewise required to furnish the accredited major political parties and accredited citizen’s arms, through the COAV, copies of the CoCs via facsimile or other means equally safe.

During the canvass of absentee votes, Velasco said every registered political party and part-list group, as well as the candidates for President, Vice President and Senator, has the right to be present and to counsel.

“They have the right to examine the election returns being canvassed without touching them, make observation thereon, and file protests,” Velasco said. “But no dilatory tactics or action shall be allowed by the Board.”

Meanwhile, the poll body has approved the petition for accreditation of the Alliance of Regional Coalitions Against People’s Poverty (ARCAPP), saying it has all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications to participate in the party-list elections.

The accreditation was contained in Comelec en banc Resolution 8744 signed by Chairman Jose A.R. Melo and Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Elias Yusoph, Gregorio Larrazabal and Velasco.

ARCAPP, formerly the Ranao Claims Against the Power Plants, is a duly registered sectoral organization representing 18 million Muslims and indigenous cultural minorities who are underprivileged, marginalized and underrepresented.

Its vision and mission include the protection and conservation of the environment of Lake Lanao, peaceful co-existence of Muslims, Lumads and Christian Filipinos based on social justice and mutual respect, poverty reduction through socio-economic programs and environmental legislative agenda, and crafting and approval into law of the Ranao Power and Welfare Bill.

ARCAPP also works for the payment of just compensation to residents gravely affected by environmental degradation caused by the operation of six hydroelectric power plants of the Agus Complex.