Pinoys in US ready to vote in May

LOS ANGELES – Over 100,000 Filipinos residing in the US have registered and are ready to cast their votes on May 9, 2016, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said.

 “In the 2014-2015 period alone, the embassy and the consulates were able to register more than 100,000 Filipino voters across the United States. We expect the Comelec (Commission on Elections) to provide us the final list of eligible overseas voters soon,” Cuisia told The STAR.

The ambassador said the final figures would be released in the coming weeks.

According to the US Census of 2010, the total estimated number of Filipinos residing in the United States is 2,555,314 representing 0.83 percent of the country’s population. Of this, California alone accounts for a majority of 1,195,580 Filipinos.

Cuisia emphasized the need to beef up efforts to increase the number of Filipinos that would vote during the election.

 “After conducting an aggressive overseas voter registration campaign, the Philippine embassy in Washington, DC and the consulates across the US have now shifted focus to increasing voter turnout,” he said.

To be able to accomplish this goal, the embassy and its consulates are actively coordinating with all Filipino-American groups.

“We have been enlisting the active support and cooperation of Filipino and Filipino-American community organizations in encouraging their members to participate in the Philippine electoral process. We are constantly coordinating with Comelec and DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) in Manila on the preparations and making sure that the entire process is accessible, convenient and secure,” Cuisia said.

He added that they are also zeroing in on security and safety of election procedures.

“Lessons from past elections continue to inform and guide our preparations. Our main priority is to ensure that the ballots reach its intended destinations and the integrity of the vote is preserved from the time our citizens cast their votes until they are duly counted and canvassed,” he also said.

It was reported that the Philippine consulate general in San Francisco has announced that the Comelec extended the period of filing of Application for Reactivation from Oct. 31 to Dec. 9, 2015.

“Voters whose records have been deactivated on Sept. 30, 2015, as announced by the consulate general, will now have an extended period in which to file for reactivation of their voter records,” the consulate said in a statement.

The Comelec was reported earlier as having simplified the process of filing the Application for Reactivation by allowing either sending a copy of the duly accomplished OVF No. 1G via email to [email protected] or by fax to (+632) 521-2952. It also allowed personal delivery at or through mail to Philippine consulates/embassies or the Office for Overseas Voting.

The Application for Reactivation form is available at the consulate general and can be downloaded from www.comelec.gov.ph and the www.dfa-oavs.gov.ph websites.