(Chicago, IL)
During the April 19th Zoom meeting between FilAmegaScene’s staff and the officers of the Consulate General of the Philippines in Chicago, Consul General Paez urges the Filipino Overseas voters (OV) to exercise their right to vote.
More than ever, your country needs you
ConGen Paez appeals to the Filipino Overseas voters to fill out the ballots they will receive and mail them back to the consulate as soon as possible.
“Good day sa inyong lahat po. Ako po si Consul General Paez, kasama ko po ang akin tatlong consuls – si Consul Almonguera, Consul Gener at saka si Consul Pondoc. Kami ho ay nagkakaisa sa paghikayat po sa inyo na bumoto kung rehistrado ho kayong bumuto para sa halalang na ito. I ne-encourage ho namin kayo na bumoto sana. Na mail na po namin lahat ng balota so asahan nyo pong matanggap yon. Kung nagbago po kayo ng address i kontak nyo lang po ang USPS para ma guaranty ninyo na makuha ninyo ang balota po. Siguraduhin lang ninyo na i mail nyo ang balota sa amin at matanggap namin before 6 a.m. ng May 9 para makasama po sa bilang ang inyong balota. More than ever po kailangan po kayo ng ating bansa. More than ever po mas okay po ngayong na makibahagi kayo sa pag determine ng ating kinabukasan po.”
(“Good day to you all. I am Consul General Paez with my three consuls – Consul Almonguera, Consul Gener, and then Consul Pondoc. We are united in encouraging you to vote if you are registered to vote for this election. We encourage you to vote. We have already mailed out all the ballots so you can expect to receive them. If you change your address, please contact the USPS to guarantee that you will get your ballot. Just make sure you mail your ballot to us and that we will receive it before 6 am on May 9th so that your vote can be counted. Our country needs you more than ever. More than ever, it is okay now for you to participate in determining our future.”)
(L-R) Consul Ryan C. Pondoc, Consul General J. Susana V. Paez, Consul Ryan Francis D. Gener, and Consul Melvin C. Almonguera
She confirms that all ballots for the 22,659 registered voters were already mailed out as announced on the Consulate General’s website. She says that the self-addressed stamped envelope the voter will receive have sufficient return postage which will ensure that the mail back to the Consulate will be smooth and without any postage problem.
Accreditation of media entities, election observers, and civil society volunteers
On the issue of the interest of the members of the media, election observers, and civil society volunteers to participate in the election process, ConGen Paez assures them that civic engagement is one of the pillars of her mandate as the head of the post. Hence, the Philippine Consulate announced on April 19th that it is still accepting applications for accreditation.
Returned mail ballots
ConGen Paez also encourages registered voters to regularly visit the Consulate General’s website to check the list of undelivered and returned mailing packets, especially those voters who moved their residence since the last election.
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