Philippine Consulate In San Francisco Registers Nearly 30,000 New Overseas Voters
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The early days of the voter registration period atthe PhilippineConsulate General in San Francisco in May, 2014
Consul General Bensurto added that at the beginning of October, the Consulate already registered 29,000 new applicants. “The outcome of the voter registration since May 2014 is record breaking for us; we will definitely breach the 30,000 mark by the end of this month,” he said, adding that “this for us is a clear indication of the growing interest that Filipinos overseas to play a greater role in shaping the future of our country by choosing its next set of leaders.”
October 31 is also the last day to file for reactivation of records of voters whose records were deactivated for failure to vote twice. Filipinos who registered at the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco or during its outreach missions are encouraged to check if their records have been deactivated by visiting www.philippinessanfrancisco.org and clicking the link “list of deactiviated voters.”
All Filipino citizens, at least 18 years old on May 9, 2016 and not otherwise disqualified by law, and who have not yet registered as overseas voters / who expect to vote during the 2016 Philippine National elections, are invited to file an application for registration. For those who are already registered under Republic Act No. 8189, otherwise known as “The Voters Registration Act of 1996”, (the system of continuing registration) should file an application for certification.
To register, applicants should personally go to the Philippine Consulate General at 447 Sutter, San Francisco, CA 94108.
Applicants for registration or certification must accomplish OVF Form 1, and present a valid Philippine passport. If they are Dual Citizens, they should present their Dual Citizenship papers such the Identification Certificate, Oath of Allegiance or Order of Approval. Seafarers should present their Seaman’s passbook in addition to the valid Philippine Passport.
In the absence of a valid Philippine passport a DFA Certification may be issued by the Consulate certifying either of the following: (1) that you have submitted documents that will warrant the issuance of a passport; (2) that the applicant is a valid passport holder but is unable to produce it for a valid reason.
On Saturday, October 31, 2015, the Philippine Consulate General will be open for voter registration from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“We are calling all kababayans who have not registered as overseas voters to do so before October 31. We have scheduled additional voter registration events this month to accommodate the growing number of Filipino who wish to register,” said Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr.