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Saipan will have field voting for 2016 PH overseas elections
A field voting for the ongoing 2016 Philippine national overseas elections will be conducted on Saipan this month.
This was confirmed by honorary consul to the Philippines Glicerio Arago and the Philippine Consulate General in Guam.
“The field voting is already approved in principle, it’s just a matter of schedule,” consul Gary Auxilian told Saipan Tribune in an interview.
Auxilian said they are still waiting for confirmation from the Philippines’ Commission on Election on when exactly to hold the field voting.
The entire period for overseas voting is from April 9 to May 9.
Auxilian said they will be making announcements as soon as a date is finalized.
For Palau, field voting will be held on April 20 to 22.
According to Auxilian, two registered voters from Saipan were able to vote in Guam as they were already in their office.
Overseas voting in Guam which started right on the first day, is also running smoothly, Auxilian said.
He added that the ballots for Saipan are ready and in fact, they have mailed some already to voters who wanted to receive their ballots via mail
So far, their office has received 24 requests to send ballots through mail.
For Tinian and Rota, all ballots were already mailed, except for one resident on Rota named Erlinda Reyes whose address they are still trying to verify.
Registered overseas voters of PCG-Guam who desire to receive their ballots through mail are requested to submit their requests to the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group on or before April 22.
Ballots for the Marshal Islands and other islands in Micronesia have also been mailed.
Auxilian said that the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group who will be bringing the ballots to Saipan will be distributing them to voters who personally appear before them.
Voters will have an option to fill the ballot on site or take it home. If they decide to take it home, they will need to use the return envelope provided and affix their signature above their printed name. without these, ballots may be invalidated.
PCG-Guam reminded Filipinos to check their names in the Certified List of Overseas Voters (CLOV) for GUAM, which can be found in philippinesguam.org or in the COMELEC website http://www.comelec.gov.ph.
