PH Embassy in Brussels Receives 1st Mailed-In Ballots as Overseas Voting Begins

Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo de Vega and Consul Charles Andrei Macaspac display the first ballot received at the Embassy on 13 April 2019, the first day of Overseas Voting for Filipinos abroad. (Brussels PE photo)

BRUSSELS 25 April 2019 — The Philippine Embassy in Brussels announced that overseas voting (OV) under the postal system for registered Filipino voters in Belgium and Luxembourg started on 13-14 April 2019, simultaneously with Philippine Embassies and Consulates General around the world, and that the Embassy has already received its first mailed-in ballots.

According to Embassy's Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) Chair Consul Charles Andrei Macaspac, the Embassy mailed the ballots to over 2,000 registered voters under its jurisdiction, as per the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) instructions.

However, he also clarified that "there were some Filipinos who contacted us to personally pick up their ballots at the Embassy instead of waiting to receive them by mail, and that is why we already received a handful of ballots as early as the opening weekend of the OV process."

Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo de Vega was there to personally witness the SBRCG perform its duties on the opening day of the overseas voting on 13 April 2019, and said that "we are proud of the commitment to the democratic process by our overseas Filipinos in Belgium and Luxembourg, and hope for a considerable turnout."

Simultaneously with the conduct of the 2019 elections in the Philippines, the Embassy will close voting on 13 May 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Philippine time (12 noon in Belgium). END

Consul Charles Andrei Macaspac, as Head of the Embassy's Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group, places the first ballot received by the Embassy in the receptacle for valid ballots during the first day of overseas voting on 13 April 2019. (Brussels PE photo)

Ambassador to Brussels Eduardo de Vega and Consul Charles Andrei Macaspac display the daily report reflecting the first ballot received by the Embassy during the opening of overseas voting on 13 April 2019. (Brussels PE photo)

For more information, visit  www.brusselspe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinBelgium/.