20 October 2014 - The Department of Foreign Affairs - Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS) announced on October 17 that the Commission on Elections, through the promulgation of Resolution No. 9903, approved the piloting of the iRehistro Project, an internet-enabled system for overseas voter registration.
The pilot project will be implemented by the Philippine Embassy in Madrid, Spain starting on the first week of November 2014 for a period of one month, to cover both sea-based and land-based registrants. Within 30 days of its initial implementation, The Embassy will submit its report and recommendation on the viability of the project. If the pilot IRehistro Project is found to be viable, other Philippine Foreign Service Posts may then request for inclusion in the project.
On October 03, the Overseas Voter Registration Center (OVRC) at the Overseas Worker Welfare Administration (OWWA) was inaugurated. This is the third OVRC to be launched in preparation for the 2016 Presidential Elections. The first OVRC is in the DFA-Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA) in Macapagal Avenue, Paranaque City, while the second is located in the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) in Quirino Avenue, Manila.
Last September, overseas voter registration continued to accelerate by reaching a monthly tally of 42,482. The tally for May was 18,670; 20,836 in June; 24,366 in July; and 38,945 in August, bringing five month total of new overseas registrant to 145, 299.
The opening of more OVRCs in other locations and the full implementation of internet registration for overseas voters, will help sustain the momentum towards reaching the ambitious but statistically attainable goal of one million new overseas voter registrants by October 31, 2015.
“At the current pace of registration, we could have an overseas voter stock of over two million for the 2016 Presidential elections. Attaining this goal can definitely be a game changer,” DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns and DFA-OVS Chairman Rafael E. Seguis said.
The breakdown per region of the September tally is as follows: the Foreign Service Posts (FSPs) in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) processed 19,423 new OV registrants, 9,380 from the Americas, the European FSPs with 4,324, and 4,788 from the Asia Pacific (4,567 from Philippine OVRCs). The top ten FSPs are Riyadh (6,055), Abu Dhabi (4,027), Dubai (3,711), Los Angeles (2,407), Jeddah (2,390), San Francisco (1,655), Singapore (1,485), Toronto (1,323), Vancouver (1,181), and Rome (1,049).
“The preparations by the Department and the Commission on Elections led to a successful start for the registration process,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario said in a letter.
“The challenge for OV registration is to maintain the momentum by keeping the overseas Filipinos interested and engaged in this democratic process,” Secretary Del Rosario added.
All Filipino citizens who expect to be abroad during the thirty day (09 April – 09 May 2016) overseas voting period for the 2016 presidential elections, at least 18 years old on 09 May 2016, and not otherwise disqualified by law, may register as an overseas voter, at all Philippine Foreign Service Posts including the three (3) Manila Economic and Cultural Offices (MECO), Office of Consular Affairs, Macapagal Ave., ASEANA Business Park, Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), 1345 Pres. Quirino Ave., Paco, Manila and at other COMELEC approved registration centers within or outside the Philippines. An updated list of registration centers may be viewed on www.dfa-oavs.gov.ph orwww.comelec.gov.ph. END