Start of OAV Registration re-scheduled to February 2009
PRESS RELEASE NO. APV - 89 -2008
Philippine Embassy, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
05 December 2008
The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has announced that the start of the registration period for overseas absentee voting (OAV) has been re-scheduled to February 1, 2009.
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in Manila reset the beginning of the OAV registration to February next year in view of the need for more time to send data capturing machines (DCMs), equipment and other peripherals for the registration to various embassies and consulates abroad.
The registration will allow qualified Filipinos the opportunity to vote in the next Philippine National Elections on May 10, 2010.
Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor said that the Embassy has received permission from the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah to hold OAV registration within their respective premises. The proposed regular filing of applications for registration at the Embassy and Consulate shall be from Saturdays to Wednesdays during working hours. The seven-month registration period will end on August 31, 2009.
Ambassador Villamor added that the Embassy is now waiting for the approval of the Saudi government for the Embassy and Consulate to conduct mobile and field OAV registration activities in various establishments and areas in the Kingdom, including the Eastern Region, which will be handled by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Al-Khobar under Labor Attache David Des T. Dicang.
“A large number of Filipinos in the Kingdom are unable travel to the Embassy or the Consulate to register due to distance and work restrictions. As such, the conduct of mobile and field registrations activities, in coordination with Filipino community groups and organizations, is of vital importance so as to reach out to our fellow kababayans who wish to register and vote during the 2010 Presidential, Vice-Presidential and Senatorial elections. I encourage my fellow Filipinos in the Kingdom to register and exercise the right to vote. I also call on the continued support and assistance of Filipino community organizations and leaders who, throughout the years, have been instrumental and have significantly contributed to the success of the OAV registration and elections in Saudi Arabia.”
Meanwhile, registered voters in the Kingdom who have not yet claimed their voter’s IDs are advised to send their requests to the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. “The Embassy will then forward your requests to the COMELEC to facilitate the delivery of your voter IDs to your respective authorized representatives in the Philippines,” Vice Consul Roussel R. Reyes, OAV Focal Person of the Embassy, stated. “Voter’s ID request forms may be downloaded from the Embassy website www.philembassy-riyadh.org. Voters who wish to update their mailing addresses in the Philippines may do so by filling up the said form and transmitting it to the Embassy.”
For more information and inquiries regarding the OAV, you may contact the Embassy through telephone no. (01) 482-0507 ext. 2002, fax no. (01) 488-3945, or e-mail address filembry@sbm.net.sa.
