MANILA, Philippines -- The overseas absentee voting (OAV) period begins today.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson Sixto Brillantes flew to Hong Kong Friday to oversee the voting process which will run for a month.

The automated election system will be implemented in countries where there is a big number of voters and the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines will be used.

There are nearly 1 million registered Filipino voters abroad, mostly in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez believes the votes of the OFWs are very vital in the May 13 elections.

ANC Headlines, April 13, 2013