Secretary of Foreign Affairs Blas F. Ople lauded the decision of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to allow the establishment of a registration center in the Eastern Province that will enable our kababayans based in that area to register, describing this welcome development as the proverbial shot in the arm for overseas absentee voting in that country.

The Saudi Government had earlier advised the Philippine authorities there that the registration process would have to be conducted strictly within the premises of our foreign service posts in Riyadh and Jeddah.

In a note verbale received yesterday by the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Philippine authorities that “the Saudi Government interposes no objection to the aforementioned request (i. e., establishment of a registration center in Al Khobar in the Eastern Region).  Losing no time,  Philippine  Ambassador  Bahnarim Guinomla  immediately dispatched  Labor Attaché  Manuel  Roldan  back  to  Al  Khobar,  a  city  in  the Eastern  Region,  to  pave  the  way  for  the  setting  up  of  the  said  registration center.

There are about 900,000 Filipino overseas contract workers in Saudi Arabia, about a third are expected to turn out and register.

Saudi Arabia is about ten times bigger than the Philippines in terms of land area.  Just to get to Riyadh, overseas Filipinos based in Al Khobar have to travel 400 kilometers, or a travel time of about 4 to 6 hours.  The situation is further aggravated by the fact that prior clearance will have to be secured by our kababayans from their employers or sponsors before any traveling could be done.

Philippine authorities in Manila remain guarded in their optimism but are hopeful that the figures for the registration process will pick up in the days to come given this positive development that will certainly boost the morale of our kababayans in the Middle East. END.