28 March 2016 - As part of the preparations for the impending 2016 Philippine elections, the Philippine Consulate General in New York hosted the COMELEC’s on-site training on the implementation of the Automated Election System (AES) from March 15 to 17.

The three-day seminar was designed for members of the Special Boards of Election Inspectors (SBEI) and Special Ballot Custody and Reception Groups (SBCRG) as well as the Special Boards of Canvassers (SBOC). For the first time ever, the Automated Election System will be used by voters in North America. Participants in the seminar included representatives from the Philippine Embassies in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa, as well as the Philippine Consulates General in Chicago, Toronto, and New York.

The COMELEC team, led by Commissioner Al A. Parreño, had intensively prepared for the seminar and exhaustively discussed the nuances of the AES, answering the questions asked by the participants who are eager to discuss the fine points and details of the new and unfamiliar processes. Aside from the instruction, in-depth analysis and hands-on operation, individualized sessions were also conducted in order to thoroughly train the participants. A trainer from the Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST) was also on hand to conduct written and practical examinations at the end of the sessions, and certify that the participants were indeed capable and familiar with the new system.

Training participants expressed their thankfulness at having been given the opportunity to enhance their knowledge regarding the new system, and looked forward to serving the needs of the Filipino voters for the upcoming elections.

The COMELEC, through its Minute Resolution No. 15-0798 dated 08 December 2015 and Resolution No. 10052, mandated select Consulates and Embassies in North America to conduct elections through the AES. In previous elections, these Foreign Service Posts had used the traditional manual system of voting. However, in light of the success of the 2014-2015 Overseas Voter Registration drive, the number of voters for the region had made the manual counting impractical and justified the use of automated elections.

The election period for overseas voting begins on April 09 and ends on May 09 at 5:00 p.m. (Philippine time). The COMELEC’s figures show a voting population of around 250,000 for the North American area. There are approximately 26,000 voters registered under the Philippine Consulate General in New York. END