Hurry up, Pinoy OAV registrants in Mideast told

MANILA, Philippines - With the August 31 deadline just around the corner, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) urged Filipinos in the Middle East to register as overseas absentee voters (OAVs) for the 2010 elections. Based on statistical records, Filipinos in the Middle East have not shown much enthusiasm for the 2010 polls since the six-month registration opened last February. More than two million Filipinos live and work in the Middle East but less than 22,000 Filipinos have so far registered in the oil-rich region. Noting the low turnout of OAV registrants, Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said special registration sessions could now be arranged with Filipino organizations during weekends or in the evenings through OAV coordinator Victor Espanola [Tel. 63-2-6425922 or email auhpe@philembassy.ae.]. In an article posted on the Khaleej Times, Ferrer warned that voters who did not register or vote in the 2004 and 2007 elections have to register so they can vote in 2010. The government has set a target of one million OAV registrants out of an estimated eight million Filipinos abroad. As of July 16, only 137,400 overseas Filipino voters have registered, according to the OAV Secretariat of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The DFA encouraged all field service posts in the Middle East to conduct mobile or field registration activities in distant areas of their respective jurisdictions. "In line with this, Filipino organizations and communities worldwide are encouraged to register to be able to vote in the 2010 national elections," the DFA said on its website. In Dubai, Philippine Consul General Benito Valeriano said an average of 100 voters register each day at the Philippine consulate there. "The total number of registrants has reached 8,000, the biggest group in the Middle East and Africa and the third worldwide as of today," he said. He added that 124 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) registered during the consulate’s outreach program in Ras Al Khaimah on July 10. Valeriano reminded OFWs and leaders of Filipino organizations in Dubai and the Northern Emirates to encourage their members to register. "The consulate in Dubai will be open during weekends for those who do not get time during the week to register, as long as we are informed that people will be coming for the registration," Valeriano said. He said Aureo Toledo and Marilyn Lucero, OAV coordinators at the consulate in Dubai, can be contacted at Tel. 050-654047. Likewise, Philippine Ambassador Libran Cabactulan said registration at the Philippine embassy in Abu Dhabi will cater to OAV registrants from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, except holidays. Highest in Hong Kong Meanwhile, the DFA is intensifying its OAV registration activities in all foreign posts. [See sidebar] Hong Kong has the highest number of overseas voter registrants so far, with 13,345 signing up as of July 16. Since February, Filipinos in Hong Kong have consistently topped the overseas absentee voting registration. Other consulates that recorded high registration rates are Los Angeles (7,985), Dubai (7,703), Singapore (5,580), London (4,559), Toronto (4,123), New York (3,943), Riyadh (3,937), Tokyo (3,306) and Washington (3,037). A militant lawmaker, Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo, has filed House Resolution No. 1249 seeking to move the August 31 deadline to December 15 to give Filipinos abroad enough time to register for the OAV. Meanwhile, the Comelec said it will tap the Iglesia ni Cristo, the Jesus is Lord Church and Migrante International to help in its campaign to increase the turnout of OAV registrants. - JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE, GMANews.TV