RIYADH, 6 May 2004 — Cast your vote and make a difference.
That was Ambassador Bahnarim A. Guinomla’s message to registered Filipino overseas absentee voters in the Kingdom yesterday as he returned to work from a prolonged stay at the home office in Manila.
“This is our opportunity to vote in this historic exercise and I call on all registered voters who have not yet cast their ballots to take advantage of the remaining days to exercise their right of suffrage,” said Guinomla. He said every vote could make a difference as the country choses its next leaders.
Filipino overseas absentee voters, including about 97,000 in Saudi Arabia, have began voting for the president, vice president, 12 senators and a party-list group.
On May 10, the last voting day, casting of ballots at the embassy opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 10 a.m. Guinomla said 10 a.m. in the Kingdom corresponds to 3 p.m. Philippine time, which is the mandatory closing period for the casting of votes.
Guinomla said that while in Manila, he received briefings and reports from Consul General Mariano A. Dumia, the charge d’affaires, so that he was updated with developments in the Kingdom.
“I thank the embassy staff for having done their best during my absence, as well as the Filipino volunteers for the absentee voting exercise currently going on,” he said.
He also expressed his desire to meet with community members.
“I am looking forward to a meaningful collaboration between the embassy and the Filipino community,” he said.
Earlier, some Filipino community leaders said that with the ambassador coming back, they expect that dialogues be held and patch up differences due to miscommunication.
Earlier news reports, quoting various unnamed sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, have said Guinomla was recalled to answer complaints that he had been partisan with Sen. Panfilo Lacson, one of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s rivals in the presidential race.
Others said he was the subject of a complaint by some organizations for refusing to let them use the embassy for community activities while allowing foreign groups to do so.
Some reports also said the president wanted Guinomla home to answer for his inability to secure her visit to the Kingdom last year.
Arroyo, who had been campaigning hard amid a tough challenge from actor Fernando Poe Jr., was able to meet only with OFWs in Bahrain.
The ambassador himself and DFA officials have refused to talk about why he was recalled to Manila.
