13 May 2004 - Overseas absentee voters under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General in New York posted the highest turnout among all qualified absentee voters in the United States.  Consul General Cecilia Rebong said that out of 818 qualified absentee voters, 488 or 60% have cast their votes at the close of voting hours on May 10.

One of those who voted was Mr. Remigio Norman, a 62-year old man, who drove all the way from his home in Hempstead, Long Island, to Manhattan at 2 o’clock in the morning of May 10 to beat the 3 A.M. deadline for voting.  Saying he felt duty-bound “to vote for the candidates able to make RP most globally competitive,” Mr. Remigio, an economist by profession and a native of Laoag, Ilocos Norte, walked into the Philippine Consulate General in New York at 15 minutes before the deadline to cast his vote. Mr. Remigio said that he felt very good about exercising his right to vote abroad after years of waiting.  However, he also said that his wife, Sandra, felt bad for not being able to vote as a dual citizen.

 At this writing, Consul General Rebong, in her capacity as chair of  the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI), is on her way to the  Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. to officially submit the election returns from the Philippine Consulate in New York.  All election returns from the various Philippine Foreign Service Posts in the U.S. will all be  canvassed by the Philippine Embassy, acting as a Special Board of  Canvassers.  END