RP finalizes poll preparations in Prague, Canada

With just nine days to go before the start of absentee elections, Philippine officials abroad finalized poll preparations in Czech Republic and Canada. In Prague, heads of the Special Electoral Bodies (SEBs) that will serve during the overseas absentee voting (OAV) conducted a re-echo seminar at the Embassy. "The activity was conducted to prepare the SEBs for the 2010 elections about two weeks before polling starts on April 10. Personal voting mode is adopted for overseas absentee votes in the Czech Republic," the Department of Foreign Affairs said on its Web site. Facilitators of the re-echo seminar included Philippine Ambassador to the Czech Republic and chairperson of the Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC) Regina Irene Sarmiento, Philippine Consul and chairperson of the Special Board of Inspectors (SBEI) Mersole Mellejor, and chairperson of the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) Ramon Gaspar. The three had also represented the Philippine Embassy in Prague during the OAV training from February 24 to 26 in Manila. After the re-echo seminar, all the participants did a mock poll to serve as a dry run for the SEBs for their respective roles in the elections. In Canada, the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa reported the Philippine Embassy and Consulates General in Canada and the Americas put their preparations into high gear. Philippine Embassy and Consulate officials and staff in Canada, the U.S. and other posts in Central and South America concluded their training for Overseas Absentee Voting held in Los Angeles, California last March 11-13 at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, California. Attending the training from Canada were Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose Brillantes as Head of the Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC), Minister and Consul General Joseph Gerard Angeles as Head ofthe Special Ballot Election Inspectors (SBEI) and Alvar Rosales as Head of the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG). Completing Team Canada were the SBEI and SBRCG heads for the Philippine Consulates-General in Canada, including Consul-General Ruth Morales Prado and Abigail Monte-Ma of Vancouver, and Consul-General Minerva Falcon and Evangeline Cayongcat of Toronto. The training was conducted by a delegation from the Commission on Elections headed by Commissioner Armando Velasco, in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate-General in Los Angeles. Last March 24, Minister and Consul General Angeles and lawyer Rosales discussed the mechanics of the OAV process in a radio interview. - KBK, GMANews.TV