DFA needs 200,000 more Pinoys abroad to register as voters by October 31
As the October 31 deadline for overseas absentee voting (OAV) nears, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is implementing various "creative tactics" such as blogs or social networking posts to get 200,000 more Filipinos to register for OAV.
In a news release, the DFA said as of August 10, more than 800,000 overseas Filipinos have already registered as voters for the 2013 elections. However, the figure is still 200,000 short of its one million target.
The DFA said it will seek "full creative use" of the Internet through website uploads, blogs, social networking posts "for spreading OAV awareness as well as dissemination and posting them in strategic places within the FSPs areas of jurisdiction."
The DFA said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario wrote to around 4,000 leaders of Filipino associations and organizations around the world in a "Letter-Blast" to solicit support in registering their members.
Even mobile phones are being used to make it easier for Filipinos abroad to register for the OAV.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some facts about the OAV, according to the official website of the Office of the President:
(1) When is the registration period for the 2013 national elections?
From November 02, 2011 to October 31, 2012
(2) Who are qualified to register as Overseas Absentee Voters?
An Application for Registration as an Overseas Absentee Voter is filed if you are not yet a registered voter in the Philippines.
An Application for Certification as an Overseas Absentee Voter is filed if you are already a registered voter in the Philippines
(4) Do I need to personally show up at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General to register and vote?
Yes, you must personally appear at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General or the identified registration site to register so that your biometrics may be captured.
(5) What requirements must I present or submit when I register as an Overseas Absentee Voter?
a. A valid Philippine passport. In the absence of a passport, a Certification from the Department of Foreign Affairs, issued through the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General, asserting either of the following:
- that you have submitted document that will warrant the issuance of a passport; or
- that you are a valid passport holder but are unable to produce it for valid reasons.
b. An accomplished OAV Form No. 1 that may be obtained at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General or mobile registration site at the time of registration, or may be downloaded, in advance, from the following government sites during the registration period.
c. If you are a Seafarer, you must also submit a photocopy of your Seaman’s Book or any other document that will prove that you are a seafarer.
New registrants
As of August 10, the DFA said "the ongoing overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration exercise has breached the 800,000 milestone with a total of 212,009 new registrants."
The new registrants include 110,170 abroad and 101,839 who registered at local OAV registration centers at the DFA-Aseana, Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Joint Manning Group (JMG) and the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen's Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP), and Philippine Transmarine Carriers Inc.
Those who registered abroad included:
"The overall total when added to our stock total of 589,830 brings 2013 registrants to 801,838 indicating that the target of 1,000,000 registered voters for the upcoming 2013 Senatorial and Party-List Election is about to be realized," the DFA said.
The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand recently conducted a mobile OAV registration on August 5, according to a news release on its website.
Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates – with an estimated Filipino population of 636,154 – are also looking to implement mobile OAV registration in various emirates.
Vice-Consul Geronimo Suliguin earlier said mobile registration services were carried out earlier in Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Ajman.
“We will have more mobile services for this purpose. We’re still planning the details at the moment but our team will definitely reach out to other areas in the northern emirates,” he said.
He said the UAE has over 11,900 registrants, and the consulate aims to add 7,000 more until the October 31 deadline.
Dubai ranks first in the Middle East and second worldwide in the list of places with the highest number of OAV registrants.
‘Something to remember us by’
Meanwhile, Commissioner Lucenito Tagle the Chairman of the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting (COAV) also had a strategy to increase awareness for OAV.
“Give them something to remember us by,” he said in a news release on the COMELEC website.
According to Tagle, it all boils down to the immigration desk which is an “indispensable stop” and “ideal place” to deliver information about the OAV registration process.
“The COAV, in close partnership with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), will be giving departing Filipinos, bound for abroad, flyers that remind them to register as overseas absentee voters,” he said.
“If they know they can vote, then they will be interested to find out how and where to register,” he added.
The flyers are currently being distributed by Immigration Officers which started on July 31, 2012 according to Benito G. Se, Acting Chief of the BI Airport Operations Division.
They have been inserting the flyers into the passports of outgoing passengers at the NAIA Terminal 1 and the strategy will be implemented in other key areas this August.
With an estimated 4,500 overseas Filipino workers who depart from the Philippines daily, Tagle said that this will increase awareness among Filipinos on voting in the National Elections even while abroad.
Aside from letter-blasts and mobile registration, foreign service posts were also encouraged to distribute the posters about OAV to Filipino communities and organizations abroad.
Posters were also disseminated among DFA's Regional Consular Offices (RCOs) in the Philippines.— LBG/VVP, GMA News
In a news release, the DFA said as of August 10, more than 800,000 overseas Filipinos have already registered as voters for the 2013 elections. However, the figure is still 200,000 short of its one million target.
The DFA said it will seek "full creative use" of the Internet through website uploads, blogs, social networking posts "for spreading OAV awareness as well as dissemination and posting them in strategic places within the FSPs areas of jurisdiction."
The DFA said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario wrote to around 4,000 leaders of Filipino associations and organizations around the world in a "Letter-Blast" to solicit support in registering their members.
Even mobile phones are being used to make it easier for Filipinos abroad to register for the OAV.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some facts about the OAV, according to the official website of the Office of the President:
(1) When is the registration period for the 2013 national elections?
From November 02, 2011 to October 31, 2012
(2) Who are qualified to register as Overseas Absentee Voters?
- All Filipino citizens abroad who are at least 18 years old on 14 May 2013, and who are not otherwise disqualified by law;
- Those who have reacquired or retained their Philippine citizenship under R.A. 9225 and other Filipino citizens with dual citizenship;
- Immigrants or permanent residents of other countries who are recognized as such in their host countries.
An Application for Registration as an Overseas Absentee Voter is filed if you are not yet a registered voter in the Philippines.
An Application for Certification as an Overseas Absentee Voter is filed if you are already a registered voter in the Philippines
(4) Do I need to personally show up at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General to register and vote?
Yes, you must personally appear at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General or the identified registration site to register so that your biometrics may be captured.
(5) What requirements must I present or submit when I register as an Overseas Absentee Voter?
a. A valid Philippine passport. In the absence of a passport, a Certification from the Department of Foreign Affairs, issued through the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General, asserting either of the following:
- that you have submitted document that will warrant the issuance of a passport; or
- that you are a valid passport holder but are unable to produce it for valid reasons.
b. An accomplished OAV Form No. 1 that may be obtained at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate General or mobile registration site at the time of registration, or may be downloaded, in advance, from the following government sites during the registration period.
- COMELEC (www.comelec.gov.ph)
- Department of Foreign Affairs (www.dfa.gov.ph)
- Philippine Embassy (www.philippineembassy-usa.org) / Consulate General
c. If you are a Seafarer, you must also submit a photocopy of your Seaman’s Book or any other document that will prove that you are a seafarer.
New registrants
As of August 10, the DFA said "the ongoing overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration exercise has breached the 800,000 milestone with a total of 212,009 new registrants."
The new registrants include 110,170 abroad and 101,839 who registered at local OAV registration centers at the DFA-Aseana, Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Joint Manning Group (JMG) and the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen's Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP), and Philippine Transmarine Carriers Inc.
Those who registered abroad included:
- Middle East and Africas: 36,391
- Americas: 31,785
- Europe: 21,959
- Asia and Pacific: 20,035
"The overall total when added to our stock total of 589,830 brings 2013 registrants to 801,838 indicating that the target of 1,000,000 registered voters for the upcoming 2013 Senatorial and Party-List Election is about to be realized," the DFA said.
The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand recently conducted a mobile OAV registration on August 5, according to a news release on its website.
Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates – with an estimated Filipino population of 636,154 – are also looking to implement mobile OAV registration in various emirates.
Vice-Consul Geronimo Suliguin earlier said mobile registration services were carried out earlier in Sharjah, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Ajman.
“We will have more mobile services for this purpose. We’re still planning the details at the moment but our team will definitely reach out to other areas in the northern emirates,” he said.
He said the UAE has over 11,900 registrants, and the consulate aims to add 7,000 more until the October 31 deadline.
Dubai ranks first in the Middle East and second worldwide in the list of places with the highest number of OAV registrants.
‘Something to remember us by’
Meanwhile, Commissioner Lucenito Tagle the Chairman of the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting (COAV) also had a strategy to increase awareness for OAV.
“Give them something to remember us by,” he said in a news release on the COMELEC website.
According to Tagle, it all boils down to the immigration desk which is an “indispensable stop” and “ideal place” to deliver information about the OAV registration process.
“The COAV, in close partnership with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), will be giving departing Filipinos, bound for abroad, flyers that remind them to register as overseas absentee voters,” he said.
“If they know they can vote, then they will be interested to find out how and where to register,” he added.
The flyers are currently being distributed by Immigration Officers which started on July 31, 2012 according to Benito G. Se, Acting Chief of the BI Airport Operations Division.
They have been inserting the flyers into the passports of outgoing passengers at the NAIA Terminal 1 and the strategy will be implemented in other key areas this August.
With an estimated 4,500 overseas Filipino workers who depart from the Philippines daily, Tagle said that this will increase awareness among Filipinos on voting in the National Elections even while abroad.
Aside from letter-blasts and mobile registration, foreign service posts were also encouraged to distribute the posters about OAV to Filipino communities and organizations abroad.
Posters were also disseminated among DFA's Regional Consular Offices (RCOs) in the Philippines.— LBG/VVP, GMA News
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