25 April 2016 – Only one week before the Overseas Voting period for the Philippine National Elections started, the Philippine Consulate General in New York, in cooperation with the Filipino-American Press Club of New York held its first ConGen Press Hour for 2016 on April 05 at the Boardroom of the Philippine Center in Manhattan.

Consul General Mario De Leon addressed about ten members of the media and introduced the Automated Election System that will be implemented for the overseas voters of New York. He informed the members of the press of the preparations the Consulate has done for the elections, including mailing the voters’ packets, and an information session for mechanics of voting that was done later on that day. He urged the press, who he considers as interlocutors of the Consulate and partners in public diplomacy to help spread the word to the community about coming out and exercising their right and responsibility to vote for a President, Vice President, Senators, and Party List Representative.

Consul Kerwin Tate presented the mechanics of the Postal Voting System adopted by the NYPCG for their 26,000 overseas voters. He explained the steps in filling up a ballot and urged the community to get in touch with the Consulate for questions regarding their voter’s registration details. END