11 October 2005 – Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Special Concern Rafael E. Sequis today reported that registration of Filipinos for the overseas absentee voting (OAV) has commenced in all Philippine foreign service posts with a 42-year-old Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Hong Kong as the first overseas absentee registrant.

Undersecretary Seguis said that Mrs. Gwendolyn Limson, a native of Pulo Pandan, Negros Occidental, was the first recorded Filipino to register last Saturday, October 1 as registration resumed at various Philippine Embassies and Consulates abroad.  Registration will run through the end of August 2006 in time for the 2007 elections.

During the first three days of registration, 146 Filipinos have registered in the Philippine Posts in Hong Kong SAR, Brunei, Phnom Penh, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bahrain, Kuwait, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Riyadh, Jeddah, Santiago, Guam, Saipan.  OAV registration was also held in MECO, Taipeh.   During this period, the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong posted the highest number of registrants with 67 OFWs registering so far, Undersecretary Seguis said.

The recorded 146 registrants during the first three days of registration is a considerably low number compared to the first three days of registration in 2003. During that period, Hong Kong alone registered a total of 628 Filipinos on the first day of registration on 1 August 2003, which was the highest registrant turnout in that year. However, this second wave of registration is expected to be slower than the first wave given that the registration period will be spread out over a period of 11 months as opposed to just two months in 2003.

A surge in the number of registrants is expected during the last three months of the registration period as Filipinos abroad try to beat the 31 August 2006 deadline and as field registrations become more frequent, Undersecretary Seguis added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is the government's primary agency tasked to implement the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) law given its presence abroad through its various foreign service posts.  To ensure that the registration runs smoothly all over the world, the DFA through the OAV secretariat has established a seven-day work week during the course of the registration period. This will enable the DFA to address every issue and inquiry that may arise during the course of the registration.

The Department is also set to establish a joint Comelec-DFA-POEA Pre-Departure Registration Center for Overseas Absentee Voters at the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) headquarters in Ortigas. The service will allow documented OFWs who are about to leave the country to register even before they arrive at their destination. The service will be available by 17 October 2005 and will end on 31 August 2006. The pre-departure service is part of the Department's commitment to the successful implementation of the Overseas Absentee Voting initiative. END