SENATOR Imee Marcos on Monday urged the Commission on Elections to extend the office hours in Philippine embassies and consulates to ensure that overseas Filipinos can cast their votes.

The chairman of the Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation warned that setbacks reported on the first day of voting in Hong Kong, the United States, Italy, and New Zealand may be replicated in other countries where large OFW populations are located.

“Let’s not wait for a last-minute scramble to implement remedies. Thousands of OFWs will end up being disenfranchised,” Marcos said.

“The immediate solution is to extend voting hours at our embassies and consulates, while the logistical challenges of setting up more voting precincts still have to be sorted out by the Comelec,” she added.

She pointed out that government offices abroad did not have consistent voting hours, with some ending mid-afternoon and others extending into the night.

Long lines, the delayed shipment of election paraphernalia and unreceived mail-in ballots were some of the problems encountered in some countries.

Complaints reaching Marcos’ office from Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom also revealed that some OFWs still did not know where to vote or that the deadline for voter registration was already over.

“The Comelec and the Department of Foreign Affairs must review the math of accommodating OFWs in different areas daily and within the one-month voting period allotted. It’s also not too late to ramp up an information campaign so that OFWs know their precinct assignments,” the senator said.