MANILA - House commitee on suffrage and electoral reforms chair Makati City Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. has filed House Bill No. 6622 providing for absentee voting of members of the media.

"Any person, by reason of his/her functions and duties as a member of the media, who is not in his/her place of registration on election day, may vote in the city or municipality where he is assigned on election day; provided that he/she is a duly registered voter," the bill proposes.

Media workers may only vote for the positions of president, vice-president, senators and part-list representatives.

Media organizations may avail of the privilege by sending to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), 30 days before elections, a list of its employees who will be working on election day.

Upon verification by Comelec, they will be qualified to vote in the office of the city or the municipal election registrar where they are assigned during office hours the week before election day.

"There will be two security envelopes for the members of the media who vote in absentia. The first is the Comelec envelope containing the actual ballot. The second envelope shall indicate the name of the absentee voter and his/her voter's registration number and shall contain the first envelope," according to the bill.

The envelopes will be sent to the Comelec central office one day before the elections. It will be canvassed there, too.