PRESS RELEASE
PR-076-2016
28 April 2016

11 DAYS LEFT TO CAST YOUR VOTES
Overseas voters urged not to wait until the last day of elections

(Riyadh, 28 April 2016) – The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh reiterated its urgent call on all registered Filipino overseas voters in Saudi Arabia to cast their votes NOW and not wait until the last day of elections on May 9.

There are only 11 days left before elections end at 12nn on May 9, 2016. Only two weekends are left before the last day of elections .

As of 27 April 2016, only 12,736 overseas voters have cast their votes at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. The figure represents a modest 11.18% of the total 113,895 registered voters in the Certified List of Overseas Voters (CLOV) of Riyadh.

For the same period, a total of 5,247 overseas voters have cast their votes at the International Philippine School in Al Khobar or IPSA. The number represents 15.46% of the 33,926 registered voters in the CLOV of POLO Al Khobar.

Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Ezzedin H. Tago, reiterated his call on all registered Filipinos to cast their votes NOW and not wait until the last weekend or day of elections. “The Embassy in Riyadh and POLO in Al Khobar have made enough preparations to accommodate more voters than those who have actually gone to vote. Our facilities at the Embassy in Riyadh or IPSA in Al Khobar, however, may not be able to accommodate a huge number of voters who may come on the last weekend or last day of elections. I urge all Kababayans to cast their votes NOW and help in a more orderly process of voting,” said Ambassador Tago.

Ambassador Tago also confirmed the text or SMS blast sent by the Philippine Embassy to over 16,000 Filipinos in its registry urging them to cast their votes. The SMS blast was sent to the mobile phone numbers of Filipinos in the Registry of Nationals being maintained by the Philippine Embassy.

“The SMS blast was sent as part of the communications plan of the Embassy under its Voters’ Education and Rights (VOTERS) Initiative of the Embassy. We will continue to send those reminders until May 9,” added Ambassador Tago.

Under its VOTERS Initiative, the Embassy has also undertaken the following initiatives:

1. Launched its “Dear Embassy” Program.

   As response to requests from voters to make representations with their employers so they may be allowed to visit the Embassy and cast their votes, the Embassy launched its “Dear Embassy” Program. Under the program, the Embassy will write to employers to allow their Filipino employees to visit the Embassy and cast their votes. This initiative was announced in PR No. 058-2016 on 12 April 2016.

2. Extended voting hours.

   To enable more voters to cast their votes, the Embassy extended voting hours from the required 8 hours daily to eleven (11) hours daily starting 29 April.

3. Set-up a Voter’s Assistance Desk.

   As part of efforts to effectively respond to cases involving Filipinos whose names could not be found on the CLOV, the Embassy established a Voter’s Assistance Desk (VAD) as its lobby. The desk is tasked to assist voters in locating their names in the CLOV and advise them on their precinct/SBEI assignments.

   The VAD also assists voters who wish to vote in another precinct by coordinating with COMELEC for the required ‘Authority to Add and Delete’.

4. Installed roll-up signs, tarpaulins and other visual aids to assist voters

   The Embassy installed at its lobby and the polling area various roll-up signs, tarpaulins and other visual aids to assist voters on voting procedures and directions.

The following are important details regarding overseas voting:

END