MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Postal Corp. (PhlPost) will set up, for the first time, a mailing center at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to sort out election paraphernalia that would be used for the overseas absentee voting (OAV) from April 9 to May 9.
PhlPost marketing management and support services manager Enrique Tagle yesterday said a memorandum of agreement among PhlPost, DFA and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was signed last Jan. 20.
The first OAV Mailing Center, operational from February to March, would be located at the ground floor of the DFA central office in Pasay City.
Tagle said it would be at the mailing center where they will prepare and sort out election paraphernalia before these are dispatched to embassies abroad.
Under the agreement, the Comelec is tasked to send by mail the election paraphernalia and equipment to various Philippine embassies and consulates abroad which shall, in turn, send the same to overseas voters.
To ensure systematic implementation, the DFA and Comelec will utilize the services of PhlPost and its partner couriers so that the ballots of overseas voters will be completely and promptly received.
PhlPost is linked with the postal systems of 190 other member-countries of the Universal Postal Union, a specialized agency under the United Nations.
Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim, OAV chair, said the ballots will be sent to voters who can cast their vote either personally or by mail.
Tagle said that the election paraphernalia will be placed in pouches and marked as diplomatic materials so that these will not be opened by Customs offices abroad.