Consul General Cristobal calls on Filipinos to register

Commision on Elections approves off-site registration in selected places in Japan

“Dalawang bagay lang ang natitiyak ko. Na kung ang overseas Filipino ay hindi magparehistro at bumoto sa susunod na eleksyon, matatalo tayo bilang mga Pilipino at matatalo ang ating bayan bilang isang bayan,” Consul General Claro Cristobal said during the Absentee Voting Workshop held on July 27 at the Meguro Catholic Church in Tokyo.

ConGen Cristobal called on Filipinos throughout Japan to exercise their “sacred duty” to participate as absentee voters in next year’s elections by registering at the Philippine Embassy in Ropponggi or at designated sites from August 1 to September 30. He told workshop participants that the embassy will be open 7 days a week nonstop from 9 to 6 pm to accommodate all Filipinos aged 18 years old and above who would like to have stake in their country’s future.

He also added that if there are enough registered voters in Japan, it is possible that the candidates running in next year’s polls will take heed of the problems faced by Filipinos here, such as the lack of medical assistance to those who have expired visas and who are consequently not covered by Japan’s national health insurance. There is actually a lot at stake for Filipinos in Japan if they willfully choose participate as overseas absentee voters, he said.

In a related activity at the Philippine Embassy on July 21, when leaders of different Filipino organizations and embassy officials held a dialog on the absentee voting law, ConGen Cristobal said that he has already sent requests to the Commission on Elections to allow off-site registration.

As of press time, COMELEC approval has been obtained for field registrations in Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki and Shizuoka. Embassy officials, in cooperation with local Filipino organizations, will visit these prefectures on designated weekends and bring the biometric machines needed to register Filipinos. For Hokkaido, Okinawa and other prefectures, he said that the Philippine Embassy is open to suggestions and commitments of support.
He added, “I will be very happy to receive such soon, so required authorizations can be secured and preparations undertaken.” He also said that the Osaka Consulate General will take care of registrations under its area of jurisdiction, which include Nagoya and nearby prefectures.

At the said embassy event, OWWA Welfare Officer Josephine Sanchez-Tobia also discussed the OFW e-Card, which can be used by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as a permanent ID. It can also be used as an international ATM card and entitle holders to travel tax and airport tax exemptions when they return to the Philippines, she said.

On the other hand, Labor Attaché Atty. Reynaldo Regalado tackled the program dubbed “Classroom, Galing sa Mamamayang Pilipino Abroad” or CGMA. He invited OFWs and Filipinos in Japan to help in the construction of school buildings in the Philippines. At a cost of only PhP 200,000, and with assistance from the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a classroom as big as a 2LDK apartment can already be built.

The AV workshop at Meguro Church attracted more than 40 participants while the dialog at the Philippine Embassy saw more than 55 representatives of Filipino organizations in attendance. Teatro Kanto, the highly talented and acclaimed Filipino theater ensemble, presented a well-applauded play during the Meguro workshop.
Those interested to know more about absentee voting, the OFW e-Card or the CGMA program may contact the Labor Office of the Philippine Embassy at telephone numbers 03-5562-1573 or 03-5562-1574.

The AV workshop at Meguro Catholic Church was sponsored by the Absentee Voting Registration Task Force (AVRTF) headed by Cesar V. Santoyo, who is also the Coordinator of the Center for Japanese-Filipino Families. Those interested to participate more actively in the information campaign for absentee voting registration may contact the Task Force at 03-3209-2439 or by email (cjff@zah.att.ne.jp). *

Procedure for Overseas Absentee Voting Registration

1) At Station 1, the applicant receives a color-coded tag. Red tags are given to Type 1 applicants (applicants with valid passports); blue to Type 2 (applicants with no valid passports); and green for Type 3 (applicants whose valid passports have been lost or are temporarily unavailable).

2) The embassy guard logs in the applicant.

3) The applicant presents his/her tag to get an application form and DFA verification/certification request form. The Type 1 applicant gets DFA verification/certification form 1; the Type 2 applicant gets DFA verification/certification form 2; the Type 3 applicant gets DFA verification/certification form 3.

4) At Station 2, the applicant fills out both application and DFA verification/certification request forms.

5) The Type 1 applicant proceeds to Station 4 for review and verification of his/her application and DFA forms. (Type 2 and 3 applicants proceed to Station 3 for interview.)

6) Station 5 is the data capture desk. The data capture machine digitally catches the applicant’s photograph, signature, fingerprint and other demographic data. Here, the applicant’s form number, last name, first name, middle name and other information are also encoded and fed into the system.

Registration/application for the Overseas Absentee Voting runs from 1 August 2003 until 30 September 2003, daily from 9 AM to 6 PM at the Philippine Embassy, 5-15-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo. For more information, contact 03-5562-1600.

OFF-SITE VOTER REGISTRATION SCHEDULE

Yokohama City (Kanagawa Pref.)—27 August
August and 14 September
Okinawa—30 August~1 September
Tsukuba City (Ibaraki Pref.) —31 August
Hiratsuka City (Kanagawa Pref.) —7 September
Saitama City—14 September
Ichihara City (Chiba Pref.)—21 September

Arrangements are being finalized for missions in Gunma-ken and Shizuoka-ken as well as in other districts of Tokyo and, possibly, other prefectures in the Kanto region.

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