2ND OVERSEAS VOTER REGISTRATION CENTER OPENS AT CFO OFFICE 04 August 2014 - The second Overseas Voter Registration Center (OVRC) in the Philippines, in preparation for the 2016 Presidential Elections, was opened on August 01 at the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), 1345 Pres. Quirino Ave., Paco, Manila. CFO Chair Imelda M. Nicolas, Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Commissioner Lucenito Tagle, and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns and Department of Foreign Affairs-Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS) Rafael E. Seguis led the opening ceremony. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), immigrants, seafarers and students who are about to leave for abroad and who are not yet registered as overseas voters may now register at this newly launched facility. On June 2014 the DFA opened the first OVRC in the Philippines for this election cycle at the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA), Macapagal Avenue, ASEANA Business Park, Parañaque City. Overseas voter registrants at this OVRC who need to renew their passports no longer have to set an appointment to apply for renewal as their Overseas Voter Registration stub will allow them access to the Passport Division’s Courtesy Lane. Also in June, the Foreign Service Posts (FSPs) processed 20,039 new OVR applications, representing a 7.5% increase over the month of May’s record breaking performance (18,631) and bringing the two-month total to 38,670. When added to the existing accumulated overseas voter stock of 975,263, the one-million registered overseas voters mark is broken by the total of 1,013,933 for the first time since the start of Philippine overseas voting eleven years ago. “At the current pace of registration, we could have an overseas voter stock of over two million for the 2016 presidential elections. Attaining this goal can definitely be a game changer,” Undersecretary Seguis said. The DFA-OVS, together with the COMELEC, has set an ambitious but statistically attainable goal of one million new overseas Filipino voters for the registration period covering 06 May 2014 until 31 October 2015. All Filipino citizens who expect to be abroad during the thirty day (09 April – 09 May 2016) overseas voting period for the 2016 presidential elections, at least 18 years old on 09 May 2016, and 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), Office of Consular Affairs, Macapagal Ave., ASEANA Business Park, and at other COMELEC approved registration centers within or outside the Philippines. An updated list of registration centers may be viewed on dfa-oavs.gov.ph or comelec.gov.ph. END
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 04:16:08 +0000