15 April 2016 - A team from the Philippine Embassy in Ankara conducted a consular mission in Istanbul on April 09 as part of its monthly consular missions, and officially opened the overseas voting period for the upcoming national elections in May 2016.

The team provided consular services to 133 Filipinos in Istanbul. 17 e-passport applications, one passport extension, five notarials/authentications, one report of marriage, and 16 applications for Embassy ID registrations for Filipinos were processed.  One Filipino came for ATN assistance.

70 Filipinos submitted their ballots for the national elections of 2016. Ms. Maria Lovella Parcon, from Taksim, Istanbul, was at Lazzoni Hotel as early as 8:00 a.m., the first Filipino voter in Istanbul who cast her vote at the opening of the overseas voting period on April 09.

The team also met with Filipino student Mr. Yassen Ala of Fatih University on behalf of several graduating students. Mr. Roberto Verzosa also met with members of a cooperative. END