AMBASSADOR BRILLANTES LAUDS PEACEFUL AND 

ORDERLY CONDUCT OF OVERSEAS ABSENTEE VOTING IN CANADA

25 May 2007 — Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose S. Brillantes has commended the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa and the Philippine Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver for successfully conducting the implementation of overseas absentee voting in their respective jurisdictions.

In his commendation, Ambassador Brillantes said, ”Our hardworking and dedicated personnel at the Philippine consular offices in Canada, specifically in the Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver, including their partners in the community and the attached services, in coordination with the Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, richly deserve our gratitude and appreciation for their efficient handling of the implementation of the country’s Overseas Voting Act.”

The Ambassador made particular mention of the important role that voters played in the success of overseas absentee voting in Canada, saying, “I reserve our highest commendation for our voters. The success of overseas absentee voting is due to the high sense of civic duty of our registered voters in Canada , who took the time and effort to accomplish their ballots and mail them back to the respective Philippine consular offices in time for the closing of the voting period at 3:00 p.m. (Philippine time) on 14 May 2007.  Several of the ballots we received were even sent via courier service, evidently in the voters’ effort for the ballots to reach the Embassy and the Consulates on time.”

Ambassador Brillantes noted that the turnout of overseas absentee voting more than met expectations, pointing out that the absentee voter turn-out of Ottawa was quite notable, at about 25%.  He said, “On the whole, the Embassy is happy that we were instrumental in paving the way for allowing our kababayans in Canada to have a say in how the country is governed. The provision of the means for overseas Filipinos to participate in the democratic process by casting their votes is already a victory in itself. The OAV process has successfully provided an avenue by which Overseas Filipinos can exercise their right to vote. Of course, it should be remembered that the right to vote also includes the right not to vote.”  END

/egret

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