The registration of voters for Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) for the 13 May 2013 Senatorial election will commence on 2 November 2011 and end on 31 October 2012.

New registrants and registered voters may visit the Embassy to register or update their registration records. An OAV registration desk at the Embassy’s Consular Section will serve the applicants Mondays thru Fridays during consular hours (08.30 am – 5.00 pm).

Applicants are advised to bring the original and photocopy of their valid Philippine passports. In the absence of a passport, they can present an authenticated copy of their birth certificate from NSO. Applicants are likewise requested to bring the original and copy of any other valid Philippine Government issued ID such as driver’s license, GSIS ID, PRC registration, or SSS ID during the registration.

Those qualified to register for OAV are Filipino citizens, who on the day of the election, are:

1. Abroad;
2. Will be abroad;
3. At least eighteen (18) years of age;
4. Not otherwise disqualified by law to vote (e.g. those who have lost their Filipino citizenship, renounced their Filipino citizenship, convicted by final judgment of an offense punishable by not less than one year imprisonment, including those found guilty of disloyalty, rebellion, insurrection, violation of firearms law, and crimes against national security, and those declared by a competent authority as insane or incompetent);
5. Dual citizens (those who have reacquired or retained their Philippine citizenship under the “Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act” of 2003 (RA No. 9225)); and
6. Immigrant or permanent resident of the country in which the Embassy or Consulate where he/she will cast his/her vote on election day is located.

The Senatorial elections on 13 May 2013 will elect the next twelve (12) members of the Philippine Senate. The Senators serve a six-year (6) term, with half of the twenty-four (24) members of the Senate elected every three (3) years.

This system ensures that the Senate is maintained as a continuous body.

Application forms for OAV may be downloaded from here. Copies may also be requested and filled out at the Embassy.

For more information on OAV, kindly view the Embassy’s FAQ on OAV and/or the COMELEC website at http://www.comelec.gov.ph and click on OAV.