24 November 2016 — The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur hosted personnel from selected Philippine Embassies and Consulates General in the Asia Pacific region as the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Department of Foreign Affairs-Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS) conducted the Training for the Resumption of Continuing Registration/Certification of Qualified Overseas Filipinos for Purposes of the 2019 National Elections.

Around 40 personnel from 18 Asia Pacific embassies and consulates general equipped themselves with the needed skills and methods to register overseas voters for the upcoming elections in 2019. The training is currently taking place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in Malaysia from November 21 to 24.

Voter registration for the upcoming elections will start from December 1, 2016 to September 30, 2018.

In his remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya said that the participants are given the task to ensure that overseas Filipinos are given the chance to exercise their right to suffrage and make their mark towards the country’s future.

“As we in the Embassies and Consulates General are their links to the Philippines, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that eligible overseas Filipinos are given every opportunity to vote and exercise that right,” he said.

For his part, DFA-OVS Acting Vice Chairperson Edgardo Castro lauded the efforts undertaken by the Embassies and Consulates General, which were instrumental in increasing the number of voters for the previous elections.

The overseas voter registration in preparation for the 2016 elections netted a cumulative total of 1,376,067 active registered overseas voters. The 826,881 new registrants for the 2016 elections, was more than a 100 percent increase over the 398,554 new registrants for the 2013 elections

Mr. Castro also said that the DFA-OVS and COMELEC Office for Overseas Voting are setting an ambitious goal of a total of 1.1 million new overseas voter registrants. The Foreign Service’s expected share is 900,000 new registrants, while in the Philippines, together with other partner agencies, will contribute 200,000 new registrants as its share towards achieving the goal.

“The basis for this cycle’s target is a 25 percent increase over the performance of the last registration period. Considering that we are starting this exercise on December 1, and ending on September 30, 2018, we have about 30 percent more time than in the previous cycle to reach or surpass our goal of 1.1 million new registrants.  In the coming weeks, DFA-OVS will be officially sending each Embassy and Consulate General their share of the target for this registration cycle,” he said, reading the speech of DFA Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Ariel Abadilla.

The number of overseas voters registered for 2016 surpassed the 2013 number of 710,951 voters.  The election also saw a record-breaking 432,706 voter turnout, surpassing the 2013 and 2010 numbers.  END