Participants in the country’s third Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) exercise will also elect candidates for 12 Senate seats and one party-list group for the House of Representatives.
A total of 589,830 overseas Filipinos are in the list of voters for the election, which is set for May 10, but which starts abroad a month ahead.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), voting will be held at 93 Philippine embassies and consulates general around the world, including four centers in Saudi Arabia — the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Consulate General in Jeddah, the International Philippine School in Alkhobar (IPSA) and the Philippine International School in Buraidah.
"All registered Overseas Absentee Voters (OAVs) are urged to participate in this electoral process. If they vote early so much the better. In that case, they will avoid the rush during the last few days of the election," said Vice Consul Roussel R. Reyes, who is in charge of OAV at the Philippine Embassy.
There are 52,887 registered voters in Riyadh, 37,063 in Jeddah, 21,537 in Alkhobar and more than 1,000 in Buraidah.
The officials urged those who have registered as absentee voters during the 2003, 2006 and 2009 registration periods to check first if their names are in the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters (CLOAV), which can be accessed either on the Commission on Elections website (http://www.comelec.gov.ph) or the embassy site: http://www.philembassy-riyadh.org.
“Better check first the CLOAV so that if your name is not there, you won’t waste time going to the voting centers,” Dicang said in a phone interview on Thursday.
Reyes on Friday reiterated his statement and urged those whose names are not on the list to notify the embassy by calling (01) 482-0507. "We will send an e-mail to the Comelec in Manila on whether to allow him or her to vote or not," Reyes said.
For those who registered in Jeddah but whose names are not in the CLOAV, they can call 669-6303 or 667-0925, send an e-mail to [email protected], or call Second Secretary and Consul Leo Teo L. Ausan at OAV Hotline 056-975-4664, said Consul General Ezzedin H. Tago.
Those whose names are in the list are required to present either their valid passport or iqama, or any valid identification documents such as OWWA, SSS, Pag-IBIG identification cards or a driver’s license.
Dicang urged voters to know beforehand who to vote for because the list of candidates is long and could get confusing.
“Let’s not wait for the last days because the voting precincts cannot possibly accommodate everyone if voters come all at the same time,” Dicang explained. He said there are 4,000 voters assigned to each precinct, which means more than 100 should ideally cast their ballots every day in order to be accommodated.
On the first day, April 10, voting opens in all three centers at 8 a.m. and will close at 5 p.m. From April 11 to May 9, the schedule varies.
On Saturdays and Wednesdays, voting opens from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Riyadh and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Alkhobar.
On Thursdays and Friday, voting is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Riyadh, Alkhobar and Buraidah.
In Jeddah, voting is from 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on all days.
On the last day, May 10, voting starts at 8 a.m. in Riyadh, Alkhobar and Buraidah, and 10 a.m. in Jeddah. Voting stops at all centers in the Kingdom at 1 p.m., which coincides with the 6 p.m. end of voting time in the Philippines.
