12 April 2016 – The Philippine Overseas Voting opened at the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles at 8:00 A.M., local time, on April 09, at its address at 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Los Angeles, CA 90010. 

The first voter was Mr. Christian Renen Torres Esteban, a member of the Filipino-American community living in Southern California.  Mr. Esteban has been the first voter for the past two presidential elections. A voter since 2010, he explained that he was able to get information about the elections through the COMELEC website and also used the online precinct finder to check the status of his registration.  It was the first time for Mr. Esteban to vote using the Vote Counting Machine (VCM) and he found the election process to be fast and fraud-free.  He appreciated the printing of the receipt after casting his ballot as it gave him the chance to verify that his vote was read properly by the VCM.

The first voting day went smoothly with no incidents or problems encountered with the VCMs.  Watchers and members of the media were present to witness the first day of elections for overseas voting.

Majority of those who voted during the first day of elections were from the second generation Fil-Ams.  One voter stated how she shared the information about the overseas voting via her social media account.  The Consulate General hopes for this continued interest and active participation of the community in exercising their right to vote.

For more information about the Philippine overseas voting, please go to the following website: www.philippineconsulatela.org or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Instructional videos about personal postal voting procedures are also available at the Consulate General’s website. END