Comelec: Overseas Voter Registration Pushes Through in Middle East Despite Bombs and Missiles — 2.5 Million Filipinos in the Region

Despite bombs falling across the Middle East, Filipino overseas voters in the region can still register for the 2028 elections. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) confirmed on Monday that all Philippine embassies and consulates in the Middle East remain open for consular services, including overseas voter registration.

'Philippine foreign posts remain open for consular services, including overseas voter registration,' Comelec said in a statement, urging Filipinos to stay alert and rely only on verified sources of information. The registration period for the 2028 national elections resumed on December 1, 2025, and will run until September 30, 2027.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has reported that approximately 2.5 million Filipinos are currently in the Middle East, with the majority concentrated in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. About 800 Filipinos are in Iran itself — the epicenter of the current conflict.

The stakes are personal for many of these OFWs. President Marcos confirmed the death of Filipina caregiver Mary Ann Velasquez De Vera of Pangasinan, who was killed by shrapnel in Israel while rushing her patient to a bomb shelter. The Israeli Embassy has expressed condolences over her death.

Comelec advised Filipino voters abroad to 'take heed of notices from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy or Consulate, and contact help lines if in distress.' For millions of OFWs in the region, exercising their right to vote is now literally a matter of life and death.

Source: GMA News