With two days left to vote for the Philippines’ 2022 Presidential Elections, a long line of eager Filipinos was seen queuing up at the Philippine Consulate in Dubai under the summer heat. Today’s weather is around 35C with a peak of 41C.
Several photos and videos submitted to The Filipino Times showed a stretch of Filipinos who have allegedly been waiting for hours just to get the opportunity to vote.
Jenny (name withheld) from Dubai expressed her dismay when she saw the long queue on the 29th day and second to the last day of the overseas absentee voting here, and stressed that the government could have prepared a better system instead of having OFWs queue up under the extreme heat as early as 8:00 am.m, which was at 34C.
“Nakakaawa ang ating mga kababayan. Sanay naman tayo sa pila at init sa Pinas. Pero yung tagal na nakababad na sa ilaim ng init ng disyerto nang ilang oras, hindi na makatao. Karamiham sa ating mga kapwa OFW, wala namang sasakyan kaya nag-commute lang. Pwede naman siguro makaisip ng sistema ang gobyerno na hindi kailngang maghintay nang ganoon,” said Jenny.
This paints a similar picture to that of the 2010 and 2016 presidential elections, where voters arrive at the last minute to try and cast their vote.
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An earlier statement from the Philippine Consulate in Dubai and Northern Emirates advised the public to vote as early as they can since they will be implementing an earlier cut-off time.
“In order to ensure a safe and orderly conduct of overseas voting, the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai will impose an earlier cut-off time of 7:00 p.m. on 06 to 08 May 2022. The cut-off time for 09 May 2022, the last day of voting, remains at 3:00 p.m. (synchronized with 7:00 p.m. PH Time),” read the statement.
Consul General Renato Dueñas Jr. of Dubai reminded the voting public that there are only a few days left, and hopes that OFWs will take advantage of the consulate’s availability during the holidays and the weekends to vote.
