The Consulate General in Jeddah on Tuesday called on the Filipino workers in the Western Region to register for the 2010 polls as it opened Thursdays for registration. In Riyadh, the Philippine embassy will open a mobile registration at the International Philippine School-Riyadh on March 27 from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. after getting a go-signal from the Saudi authorities. The embassy advised those who want to register in the absentee voting for the May 2010 elections to bring a copy of their passport. Consul General Ezzedin Tago made the appeal for OFWs to register and vote in the 2010 polls due to the low turn-out of registration. Tago said the consulate has extended the timing of registration until Thursday to encourage OFWs to vote in the elections for president, vice president, senators, congressmen and local government officials. “We are now open the whole day every Thursday to give a chance to our kababayan (who cannot go on weekdays) to register,” he said. Until March 23, only 686 Filipinos have registered in Saudi Arabia - 192 from Jeddah and 494 from Riyadh. Despite the low turnout, Tago said he was positive that the figure will rise on the coming months as the election date gets closer. Many Filipinos in Jeddah said among the key factors for the low turnout is lack of information campaign and the limited timing for registration only on weekdays. Frank Naval, founding chairman of the United OFWs, suggested that the Philippine missions in the Kingdom should launch and information drive because not all OFWs have access to Internet or read the newspapers. In Riyadh, Vice Consul Roussel Reyes, head of the overseas absenting voting section, said the embassy will ask the Saudi authorities to allow mobile registration in other schools before the listing closes. “Many of our kababayans (countrymen) have difficulty in traveling to the embassy” he said. The embassy intends to open registration on Fridays, simultaneous with events organized by Filipino organizations and companies willing to help Filipino workers to register.
