SINGAPORE, 12 April 2025 – The Philippine Embassy in Singapore on Friday, 11 April, conducted the Final Lockdown and Sealing (FLS) of the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) in preparation for the start of overseas online voting on Sunday, 13 April 2025 at 8:00 AM. 

The FLS confirmed that the OVCS to be used for online voting is still inactive and uninitialized, and free of any votes prior to the start of the official overseas voting period. The official digital ballots can only be accessed by all pre-enrolled voters starting from 13 April at 8:00 AM.

The FLS was led by Third Secretaries and Vice Consuls Renee Gayle M. Chua, Atty. Joy Anne B. Lai and Atty. Teddy Edmund T. Pavon as Members of the Embassy’s Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI), with the support of other Embassy personnel deputized by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as members of the SBEI and Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG).

The successful FLS affirms that all systems are ready for the upcoming Philippine overseas elections in Singapore. This is the first time in Philippine history that registered overseas voters will be participating in the electoral process via internet voting. The Embassy welcomes this positive development as Filipinos in Singapore need not go to the Philippine Embassy to cast ballots and queue in line. This will enable kababayans who are unable to visit the Embassy due to work-related concerns or outside the country at the time of election.

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Medardo G. Macaraig emphasized that Halalan 2025 has been made very convenient and highly accessible to overseas Filipino voters, and encouraged all kababayans to vote online as soon as possible.

In order to assist registered voters in Singapore who are encountering difficulties in completing the voter identification process for the online voting, the Embassy also launched its “Gabay Botante: Enrollment Support Sessions”. Through these sessions, qualified Filipino overseas voters are afforded the unique opportunity to avail themselves of the Embassy’s assistance in the voter enrollment and identity verification process, a prerequisite to be able to vote online. Those who wish to avail themselves of the Gabay Botante session need to book a schedule through phinsg.com/enrollmentsupport.

The Embassy reiterates that online voting/internet voting is the only mode of voting for #Halalan2025 overseas. There are no physical ballots and vote counting machines similar to previous elections. Registered and enrolled online voters may cast their votes using their smart devices such as mobile phone, tablet, laptop and computer beginning Sunday, 13 April 2025 at 8:00 AM until Monday, 12 May 2025, 7:00 PM. 

As the 30-days voting period for the Philippine overseas elections open tomorrow, the Philippine Embassy strongly urges kababayans to actively participate, exercise their right to vote, and avoid waiting until the last minute to cast their vote. /END