To encourage more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to register for the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) and vote for the 2013 elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced that they are ready to give away all-expense paid trips to top tourist spots in the Philippines and gift checks through a raffle. All OFWs who will register for the coming elections will get a chance to win.

Aside from the prizes that they are offering, Comelec Commissioner on OAV, Armando Velasco also said that  the embassy and consular workers would even visit the homes or workplaces of  OFWs so it would be easier for them to register for the OAV.

According to Velasco, the registration for the OAV started last November but very few have responded to the call for registration. Since November, only 16,070 OFWs had registered for the 2013 elections. This is a very small figure as compared to their goal of at least one million registrants from an estimated 12 million Filipinos working overseas

The Commissioner is hoping that the incentives they are offering would increase the number of registrants.

Velasco said, “Raffle prizes would include free trips to Boracay and Baguio, among other destinations, and gift checks from Duty Free Philippines. But we’re still finalizing the mechanics.”

The Comelec also plans to put up registration counters in airports so OFWs can register even before leaving.

He said, “There will be registration booths in airports as well as at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration office (POEA) where they can enlist as they get their work permits.”