DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                                        2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                                                     Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-745-06                                                                                                                                                                        04 September  2006

Philippine Embassy, Brunei continues intensified OAV registration campaign 

4 September 2006 — Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam Virginia H. Benavidez reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Embassy intensifies its campaign for Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) registration with the extension of the registration period to 30 September 2006. 

Ambassador Benavidez said that as of 31 August 2006, 1,801 Filipinos have already registered as additional Overseas Absentee Voters, or 90% of the Embassy’s target of 2,000 new registrants.  “The Embassy OAV registration team will continue to pursue efforts to meet, if not exceed, this target within the next four additional weeks of registration,” the Ambassador said, adding “considering that the Sultanate has a comparatively smaller population of OFWs than other countries, I am pleased to note that the Embassy in Brunei ranks 6th among the Top Ten Foreign Service Posts in terms of OAV registration.” 

The Ambassador said that the Embassy opened on the last three Sundays of August for OAV registration to allow Filipino workers who are unable to leave their places of work on weekdays.  The Embassy will remain open in the coming Sundays to cater to other would-be OAV registrants who only have Sundays as their day-off from work. 

Ambassador Benavidez also stated that the Embassy is also making arrangements for its OAV team to visit in the next few weeks establishments with large numbers of Filipino workers who have not yet registered.  “The registration team has already visited all the garment factories in the country, tapping into potential new registrants, and has also took the opportunities presented by the gatherings of Filipinos in Bandar Seri Begawan to boost OAV registration numbers,” the Ambassador remarked. 

Earlier in the year, the Embassy repositioned its registration center at the Chancery from the Consular section to an area near the Embassy’s main entrance so that it may be accessible to more people entering the premises. 

“These proactive steps and an aggressive approach towards registering applicants have significantly raised the numbers of Overseas Absentee Voters from the Filipino community in Brunei Darussalam,” Ambassador Benavidez said.   

Records of the Department show that there are about 30,000 Filipinos in Brunei as of June 2006.  END

/jay

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