Comelec starts training PHL consuls for 2013 polls

This early, the Commission on Elections has started training Philippine consuls and attaches for the upcoming midterm elections in May 2013. In the United Arab Emirates, the Comelec is preparing consuls and attaches from 18 diplomatic posts in the Middle East and Africa this week. Other teams are similarly training diplomatic posts in Hong Kong, Jakarta in Indonesia, San Francisco in USA and Milan in Italy, news site Khaleej Times reported Saturday. The Comelec officials will also distribute to the representatives of the various diplomatic missions the advanced biometric technology equipment to clean up the lists of voters. “I urge you to come out and vote because if all the one million new registrations would come out and vote, whatever is the party list of your choice will definitely win. Voting on the 2013 national elections will enable you to exercise your duty as a citizen," Comelec Commissioner Elias Yusoph appealed to Filipinos abroad. The initial poll-related activity to prepare for is the upcoming Overseas Absentee Voters’ (OAV) registration, which is set to start on October 31. OAV aims to reach out to at least one million new registrants out of the 2.4 million potential voters worldwide. UAE training In Dubai, Yusoph and Philippine Consul-General Benito Valeriano opened the Committee on OAV's (COAV) Training on the Resumption of Continuing Registration program on Monday. Attending the training were 36 consuls and attaches from Philippine Embassies in Abu Dhabi, Abuja in Nigeria, Amman in Jordan, Beirut in Lebanon, Cairo in Egypt, Damascus in Syria, Doha in Qatar, Kuwait, Manama in Bahrain, Muscat in Oman, Nairobi in Kenya, Pretoria in South Africa, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Tehran in Iran, Islamabad in Pakistan and New Delhi in India. "Voting is an exercise of the higher duty you owe to the families you left behind – that is, to select and elect the rightful leaders, who will decide not only on their present state of living, but also on the more delicate issues concerning their future," Yusoph said. He said those who failed to vote for two consecutive elections are automatically deleted from the roster of qualified voters and should register again when registration starts by October 31. For his part, Valeriano exhorted the representatives of 18 Philippine embassies and consulates to actively encourage Filipinos to register and vote. — LBG, GMA News