The Embassy of the Philippines in Beijing reported that it has exceeded its target number of 197 applications for registration/certification. As of 28 September, the number of Filipinos who applied for registration/ certification reached 242 or 45 more than its target number of 197 potential registrants.

Among those who have applied for registration/certification in the Embassy are Mr. Ramon Escanillas of China Radio International; CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Jaime Flor Cruz; ABC News Bureau Manager Jose Santiago Sta. Romana; NBC News Bureau Chief Ericson Baculinao; Mr. Wilfredo Camaclang of San Miguel Brewery; Dr. Estrella Serrano, Technical Adviser of the United Nations Population Program (UNFPA) Office for China; Ms. Maria Magdalena Arduo, Operations Officer of the UNICEF Office for China; Filipino musicians,
technicians, teachers in English and students.

Mr. Angel Prado, spouse of Charge d’ Affaires a.i. Ruth Morales Prado, a Canadian passport holder, became the first Filipino who applied for registration under Republic Act 9225, or the Citizenship Retention and
Reacquisition Act of 2003.

The Embassy conducted a briefing for the Filipino community on the overseas absentee voting law on 02 August 2003, during which some 50 Filipinos applied for registration/certification. It has issued announcements on overseas absentee voting through circular emails for members of the Filipino community under its jurisdiction. It has also made telephone calls to the community to inform and remind them of the ongoing registration of absentee voters. It has posted information on the Embassy website and has included articles on the overseas absentee voting law in the Embassy’s newsletter, the Philippine-China chronicle. On 28 September, the Embassy arranged for the transportation of eight Filipino students studying in the Beijing Language University to come to the Embassy to apply. As a result of these efforts, Filipinos residing as far as Xinjiang, Gansu and Jilin provinces have come to the Embassy to apply for registration/certification.

To accommodate those who have not applied for registration or certification, the Embassy emailed the Filipino community to inform them that the Embassy will be open from 9:00 a.m. on Monday, September 29, 2003 and Tuesday, September  30, 2003, the last two days of filing applications for registration for overseas absentee voters. - END