The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) today launched a registration center for Filipino overseas absentee voters (OAV) at the CFO office in Manila.

The launch was part of government's intensified campaign to encourage the broadest number of Filipinos to register as overseas absentee voters. The OAV registration center at the CFO is an addition to the existing poll list-up centers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) which targets departing immigrants or permanent residents.

The CFO registration center was unveiled through the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the COMELEC, the DFA and the CFO. During the MOA signing, the COMELEC was represented by Commissioner and Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting Chairman Nicodemo Ferrer; the DFA Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat, had Undersecretary Rafael Seguis as its representative; and the Committee on Filipinos Overseas was represented by Secretary Dante Ang.

"We are aware of the low turn-out of OAV registrants; this is why we are giving our OFWs the chance to register as absentee voters even before they leave for work abroad," said COMELEC Commissioner Ferrer, as he called on all departing OFWs and immigrants to take advantage of the OAV registration sites at the CFO, NAIA and POEA.

Ferrer reported that as of June 2, 2009; a total of 90,801 Filipinos have registered as absentee voters worldwide. He said Asia and the Pacific drew the largest number of OAV registrants with 24,735; followed by the Americas with 19,216. Middle East and Africa registered 15,089 absentee voters, followed by Europe with 11,593. Meanwhile, the registration center in the POEA drew in 12,286 OAV registrants while a total of 7,882 registered at the NAIA.

The top 5 countries concerning OAV registration are the United States of America with 15,456; China with 9,352; United Arab Emirates with 5,739; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 4,168 and Singapore with 4,091.

The OAV registration started February 1 this year and will run until August 31, 2009. Ferrer said qualified OAV registrants need only present their passports, seaman's books for seafarers when they register at Philippine embassies, consulates and other designated registration centers here and abroad. ###