“It’s my honor to exercise my right to vote as a Filipino,” said a beaming Benjamin M. Gabor, a maintenance worker from Elmhurst, N.Y., as he cast his ballot Tuesday as an overseas absentee voter. “I voted for Gloria Arroyo and Noli De Castro!” he intimated to the Filipino Reporter. “We need capable leaders. Number one talaga dapat matalino at may pinag-aralan.”

The 59-year-old father of four and native of Mindoro Occidental was among the dozens of Filipino land-based absentee voters who already have cast their votes since the polling precinct opened Sunday at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

The Philippine Consulate would not disclose the number of those who have voted so far, saying the figure would be determined only during the official canvassing on May 10. There are a total of 818 Filipinos under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate in New York who were approved as absentee voters by the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The Comelec is predicting a 300,000 voter turnout for Filipinos overseas, which could provide the swing vote to decide the country’s next president and vice president, as well as senators and party-list representatives.

The sea-based overseas Filipinos, particularly seafarers, started voting a month earlier, but the turnout has been dismal with only 10 percent (out of 2,304 who registered) voting thus far across the globe. In New York, of the nine registered seafarers none has showed up as of

Tuesday.

Roger Delizo, 59, of Elmhurst and a longtime employee at the Philippine Center, had the honor of being the first Filipino in the area to cast his ballot as an overseas absentee voter. “Of course I’m so happy that I was able to exercise my right to vote and it’s in New York City, of all places,” the Sta. Ana, Manila native told the Reporter.

Delizo, who was an overseas contract worker in Dubai in the 1980s prior to New York, said his last participation in the Philippine election was in 1969, when he voted for the reelection of Ferdinand Marcos over Sergio Osmeña. This time, however, Delizo would not reveal his presidential pick. Nonetheless, he mentioned Robert Barbers, Alfredo Lim and Aquilino Pimentel Jr. as among his senatorial choices.

Consul Lourdes Legaspi, who is among the three Comelec appointees to man the New York precinct, said the voting has been “very orderly and smooth.” She noted: “The voters all come with their proper IDs. They even bring the notices we sent them. They come prepared.”

Consul General Cecilia Rebong said she felt the “significance of this important and historic event” when she met an elated female voter casting her ballot. “She told us this is her first time to vote in her life,” Rebong recalled. “It’s like a big dream for her. She said she never thought she’ll be able to vote while in a foreign land. For me, just seeing her happy gave meaning to

what we are doing for the overseas absentee voters.”

In Manila, Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert disclosed that over 11,000 absentee voters had already cast their votes as of Monday. “This number represents a good start,” Albert told reporters. “It is just the first day of voting and I anticipate the number to rise significantly over the next four weeks.”

Eighty-one Philippine embassies and consulates across the world serve as polling stations. Voting hours are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

On the last day on May 10, voting shall terminate at 3 a.m. to synchronize with the closing time (3 p.m.) of voting precincts in the Philippines. The counting of the ballots will start immediately thereafter.