RIYADH, 10 August 2006 — The Philippine Embassy is asking Filipinos of voting age in the Kingdom who are not yet registered absentee voters to sign up now and avoid the long queues expected on the last day.
Consul General Nestor N. Padalhin, the embassy’s chargé d’affaires, said teams will be sent to places outside of Riyadh during weekends to receive registrants.
The registration, which started in August 2005, will end on Aug. 31.
A press statement issued by Padalhin said the embassy will receive registrants on Aug. 18 and 25 (both Fridays) and Aug. 31 (a Thursday) from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.
On weekdays, registration services are available daily from Saturday through Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., he said.
Padalhin explained that those who had registered for the 2004 Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) exercise need not sign up again.
The basic requirement for registration is the original or photocopy of the registrant’s Philippine passport. If that is not available, an applicant may present a copy of his or her iqama or any other known Philippine-issued ID card, such as a driver’s license, postal ID, SSS ID, among others.
Only those who application are approved could participate in the May 2007 Philippine national elections.
Under the OAV law, participants are allowed to vote for the president, vice president, senators and party-list representative.
Records of the OAV Secretariat at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) showed that there were only 4,730 who signed up in Saudi Arabia as of July 31.
Of the total, 2,078 (43 percent) signed up in Riyadh, 1,491 (32 percent) in Jeddah, and 1,161 (25 percent) in Alkhobar and Jubail. The total was a far cry from the figure in the first OAV registration, in which more than 96,000 Filipinos in the Kingdom registered, the biggest worldwide.
Padalhin said those who have registered in 2003 but have missing or incorrect details in their Voter’s ID or the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters (CLOAV) may come and have these corrected. It takes only a few minutes to complete the registration process.
The embassy will also process applications for transfer of registration records from one country to another.
Padalhin also announced that hospitals and large companies that employ a significant number of Filipinos may request for an embassy team to provide the registration service at the worksite in any day of the week.
Requests and other inquiries regarding OAV registration may be directed to Attaché Delza Deriada at telephone number (01) 488-0835 extension 2002 or at direct line (01)482-3559.