Overseas Absentee Voting center to be set up in Paranaque

30 June 2012 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) are set to sign a Memorandum of Agreement on July 02 on the establishment of an overseas absentee voting (OAV) registration center at the 2^nd floor, Courtesy Lane Section, of the DFA’s Office of Consular Affairs (DFA-OCA), ASEANA Business Park, Macapagal Ave. Corner Bradco Ave., Brgy. Tambo, Parañaque City.

The DFA’s Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (DFA-OAVS) in coordination with the COMELEC is at its last leg of preparations for the OAV registration ending this October 2012. Over-all OAV preparations shall culminate with the opening of the COMELEC-DFA-OAVS-OCA OAV Registration Center which is expected to encourage more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to participate in this electoral endeavor and exercise their right to suffrage.

At present, 88,500 Filipinos have registered in various Philippine diplomatic missions as new overseas absentee voters. OAV registration centers in the Philippines (CFO and NAIA terminals 1 and 2, POEA, OWWA, JMG/AMOSOUP), on the other hand, have added a combined total of 72,653 new outbound overseas Filipinos since their opening last February, March, April, and June 2012, respectively. This brings the overall total of new OAV registrants to 161,153.

DFA-OAVS hopes that with the opening of the PTC OAV pre-deployment registration center and with the launching of the OAV registration facility at DFA-OCA, our kababayans participation in the electoral process will increase considerably. END