RIYADH, 19 April 2004 — With a considerable number of volunteers from the community, the Philippine Embassy has said it is now ready to accommodate bigger numbers of voters in the coming days, particularly during weekends.
Vice Consul Adrian Cruz, the coordinator on absentee voting in Riyadh, said that the embassy had so far issued 120 identification cards to volunteers, which include those maintaining peace and order, providing public assistance and information, and distributing voter IDs.
For the first weekend of voting in the Kingdom, Cruz said that the number of votes cast almost equaled that of Hongkong, which posted a turnout of 4,400 during the first voting day on April 11.
Officials of the Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat in Manila had said that was understandable because April 11 was a Sunday, an off-day for most Filipino expatriates in the former British colony.
Some diplomats have observed that Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are usually late-starters but when they find their bearing, they are as unstoppable as Shaquille O’Neal. During last year’s two-month registration period, Hong Kong led most of the way in the contest among Filipino overseas communities for the highest number of voters. But when community organizations in Saudi Arabia got their acts together and mobilized, the total number of registrants in the Kingdom reached 97,454, beating Hong Kong by a wide gap.
Before the first weekend of voting approached, Manuel Amora, a member of the Committee on Information, disseminated information on the Internet regarding assigned precincts of voters at the embassy. Names are arranged alphabetically.
Cruz also reminded voters that a voter’s ID is not necessarily a requirement in order to vote. As long as the name of the voter appears in the Comelec’s certified lists of voters, the voter is eligible to vote provided he or she can show some other proof of identify, such as an iqama, driver’s license, company ID, and the like.
The voting center at the embassy has 10 precincts, each of which can accommodate 15 voters at a time.
Julianito Gregorio, a voter from Al-Kharj, observed that the voting was “well-orchestrated” that it only took him only 5 minutes to vote after queuing for less than 10 minutes. As soon as a precinct is free of slots, volunteers immediately guide voters to that particular precinct, thus minimizing the waiting time.
There are 41,252 registered voters in Riyadh.
The support organization for the Committee on Public Assistance are composed of the Bicol Saro nin Riyadh, Alpha Phi Omega, Bicol Expatriate of Riyadh Saudi Arabia, Bicol United Council, Polangui Overseas Workers Welfare Association, NARS, Overseas Filipino Investors Society, OFW Congress-Riyadh, Order of the Knights of Rizal, and the Philippine Guardians Brotherhood, Inc.
The marshals are composed mostly of Black Python Martial Arts members.
