MANILA, Philippines – Overseas voting registration/certification for qualified overseas Filipinos for the 2019 elections resumes December 01 until 30 September 2018 , said the Department of Foreign Affairs – Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS). DFA-OVS and COMELEC concluded the on-site trainings on the resumption of registration / certification for qualified overseas Filipinos for purposes of the 2019 elections last November 2016.
The on-site training covered all regions including the Americas (Los Angeles, U.S.A.), Middle East and Africa (Kuwait), Europe (Prague, Czech Republic) and Asia Pacific (Osaka, Japan and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). More than two hundred (200) Officers and staff from different Foreign Service Posts (FSPs) will act as Administering Officer, Voter Registration Machine (VRM) Operator and Resident Election Registration Board (RERB) attended and participated in the aforementioned activity. The said officers and staff were trained on the procedural and technical aspect of overseas voting registration/certification.
A similar training was also conducted in Manila for representatives of the Manila Economic and Cultural Offices (MECOs) in Taiwan, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Al-Khobar, the Philippine Embassy in Yangon, and the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad. The overseas voter registration in preparation for the 2016 elections netted a cumulative total of 1,376,067 active registered overseas voters. The 826,881 new registrants for the 2016 elections, garnered more than a 100% increase over the 398,554 new registrants for the 2013 elections. Of the almost 1.4 million registered overseas voters, 590,440 are located in the Middle East and Africa; 334,215 in Asia Pacific; 263,316 in the Americas; and 138,757 in Europe. Sea-based registered overseas voters reached a total of 49,339.
“Considering that we are starting this exercise on 01 December 2016, and ending on 30 September 2018, we have about 30% more time than in the previous cycle to reach or surpass our ambitious goal of 1.1 million new registrants,” said Office of Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Undersecretary Ariel Y. Abadilla, in a statement. Undersecretary Abadilla is concurrently Chairman of DFA-OVS. All Filipino citizens who expect to be abroad from April 13 to May 13, 2019 during the overseas voting period for the 2019 Elections, who will be at least 18 years old on 13 May 2019, and who are not otherwise disqualified by law, may register as an overseas voter, at all Philippine Foreign Service Posts including the three (3) Manila Economic and Cultural Offices (MECO) in Taiwan and Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Al-Khobar. For an updated list of Foreign Service Posts, Manila Economic and Cultural Officers, and Philippine Overseas Labor Offices, please go to www.dfa-oavs.gov.ph or www.comelec.gov.ph.
Overseas voting registration/certification for qualified overseas Filipinos resumes on Dec 1
