11 March 2004 – “The right of suffrage represents one  of the hallowed cornerstones of our democratic
heritage, won at the price of our heroes’ noble sacrifices. Peoples in foreign lands continue to fight  for this right to this day, at great cost. We,  however, have long enjoyed it. Let us not take our  forefather’s sacrifices for granted.”

 With these words, Ambassador Victor G. Garcia III  launched the Philippine Embassy in Vienna’s preparations for the 2004 overseas absentee voting  exercise. The Embassy’s preparations began in earnest  in August 2002, when the Ambassador and the Embassy’s  officers started promoting the process in their speaking engagements with the Filipino community.

 In commending the efforts of the Philippine Embassy in  Vienna, Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert  recounted the untiring efforts of Philippine Foreign  Service Posts to put into place the absentee voting
 mechanism. “They fully deserve recognition,” she said.

 In August and September 2003, qualified Filipino  voters who were either based within the Post’s  jurisdiction or intended to vote within the Post’s  jurisdiction came to the Embassy for the Overseas  Absentee Voting (OAV) registration for the 2004  national elections.

 The Post was mandated to implement R.A. 9189, or “An  Act Providing for a System of Overseas Absentee Voting  by qualified citizens of the Philippines abroad,  appropriating funds therefore, and for other  purposes.”

 When the registration ended on 30 September 2003, the  Embassy logged a total of one-hundred-ninety-seven (197) registrants, and duly submitted their overseas  voters  applications to the Commission on Elections.

 The Embassy is making the necessary preparations for  the conduct of the 2004 elections, starting 12 March
 2004 and ending at 3 pm (9 am Vienna time) on 10 May  2004.  So far, the Filipino community leaders are
 closely in touch with the Embassy and are always ready  and willing to lend a hand in promoting the exercise,
 among their members who are still Filipino citizens.  About one out of five Filipinos in Austria still  retain their Philippine citizenship.

 To date, the Embassy has prepared the physical lay-out  of its Rizal Reading Room (conference room) to
 transform it into a polling precinct, trained all its  officers and staff who will perform election duties  and started the process of individual notification of  the voters within its jurisdiction.  The Embassy will  conduct a full-scale mock election and counting on  10-11 March 2004. - END