The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) assured qualified Filipinos who were certified as overseas absentee voters that they may vote for the May 10, 2004 national and local elections as long as their names appear in the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters.

Commissioner Florentino A. Tuason, Jr., Chairman of the Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting (COAV) said that IDs shall be issued by the Commission with or without the biometrics of the voters which shall be made available to them on or before April 11, 2004. However, in the unlikely event that no IDs shall be issued to the overseas absentee voters, the presentation of the IDs before the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEIs) shall not be a requirement for said voter to vote, if his or her name appears in the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters.

The COAV also informed Undersecretary/Officer-in-Charge Rafael E. Seguis of the OUSC/OAV Secretariat from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that the COMELEC's Election Records and Statistics Department (ERSD) has been authorized to give DFA-OAVS both soft and hard copies of the complete list of the posted Certified List of Overseas absentee Voters.

Casting of votes for seafarers shall be on any day from March 12, 2004 (host country time) to 3 o'clock p.m. of May 10, 2004 (Philippine time). For land based absentee voters, it will be on any day from April 11, 2004 (host country time) until 3 o'clock p.m. of May 10, 2004 (Philippine time), as provided for in R.A. 9189, COMELEC Resolution No. 6325.