JEDDAH, 14 March 2004 — The Consulate General here yesterday said Filipinos in the Western Region who have registered for the first Philippine Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) can come and get their voter’s ID starting Monday.
Vice Consul Jose V. Jacob, the acting head of the consulate, said the personnel in charge of releasing the ID cards will be on duty from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. every day, including Thursdays and Fridays.
Vice Consul Jose V. Jacob said the consulate will arrange for representatives to distribute the IDs of workers in far-flung areas.
Jacob said those who are in Jeddah or nearby places and who have time to spare may come and collect their IDs any day until April 10. Those who are too busy can collect their ID cards when they visit the consulate to cast their vote starting April 11, he said.
“This will save the workers precious time and money,” he added.
The consulate, along with the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and other polling stations in many countries worldwide, started the voting process for seafarers on Friday.
Voting will begin on April 11 for land-based workers until May 10, the election day in the Philippines.
Although there are an estimated 4.6 million overseas Filipinos who are qualified to vote, less than half-a-million signed up during the two-month registration period last year. Saudi Arabia posted the most number of absentee voting registrants with almost 100,000 signing up, of which more than 30,000 were from the Western Region. Hong Kong was a close second.
Under the rules set by the Philippine Commission on Election, a registered voter has to appear in the polling precinct personally and to present his or her voter’s ID. To claim the voter’s ID, the registered voter has to present a registration acknowledgement receipt, or any other valid documents such as an Iqama or a driver’s license.