Absentee voting registration begins in Papua

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople described the month-long registration for overseas Filipino voters as off to a good start with the Philippine Embassy in Papua New Guinea having the distinction of welcoming the first Filipino applicant who came in to register at the embassy in Port Moresby at exactly 8 a.m. yesterday.

Ople identified the first registrant as Generoso Cabael, 59, who has been working in Port Moresby for the past 23 years as a mechanical service manager in an engineering company.

Ople said the department is still gathering data on how many Filipinos registered in the 84 registration centers located throughout the world on the first day of the absentee voting registration period.

The 81 foreign posts made use of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) data capturing machines, which enabled the embassies and consulates to electronically verify and store the passport data submitted by OFWs. This data will be transmitted to the Comelec for processing.

"We expect a heavier turnout this weekend and all succeeding weekends because our potential Filipino registrants are usually free during these days," Ople said.

He added that the embassies and consulates have organized a seven-day workweek to enable the staff to receive registrants. The DFA has formed an Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) to support the operations of its posts during the registration of voters up to the post-election day period.

Ople stressed the commitment of the DFA in supporting the Comelec’s objective of having clean and honest elections in 2004.