Embassy to Conduct OAV Registration in Yemen
PRESS RELEASE NO. APV-11-2009
28 February 2009
The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh is scheduled to conduct a field registration for overseas absentee voting (OAV) for Filipinos in the Republic of Yemen, simultaneous with the Embassy’s consular outreach program in the capital Sana’a and Aden on March 4 to 9, 2009.
“The Embassy will send a team to Yemen to render passport, notarial and consular services, including OAV registration. This is an opportunity for our fellow kababayans in Yemen to be able to exercise their right to suffrage, for qualified Filipinos to register as overseas absentee voters this year and cast their ballots in the 2010 Philippine national elections,” Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor said. The Embassy first conducted field OAV registration in Yemen in February 2006 and again in August 2006.
Meanwhile, during the days that OAV field registration will be conducted in Yemen, registrants in Riyadh are advised that no data capture machine (DCM) will be available at the Embassy from March 4 to 9. Still, the Embassy will continue to accept applications for OAV registration in Riyadh. During these dates, an OAV applicant in Riyadh shall accomplish an OAV registration form and submit a copy of his Philippine passport. The applicant is advised that he still has to submit himself to live biometrics capture (photograph, signature and finger printing) upon notice.
Aside from Yemen, the Embassy also plans to conduct OAV registration at Philippine schools in the capital Riyadh, including the Eastern Province. “The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approved the conduct of mobile/field OAV registrations only in Philippine schools under the supervision of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah,” Ambassador Villamor said. The Embassy has requested additional DCMs from the COMELEC in Manila to be able to accommodate a larger number of OAV registrants in the months to come. The Embassy shall also meet and coordinate with various Filipino community groups and leaders in the Kingdom, and will soon announce its dates and venues for field OAV registration in Riyadh, including the schedule for registration during weekends at the Embassy. END
