Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver Hosts Leg 7 of the Online Voting and Counting System Training and Internet Voting Information Drive for the 2025 National Elections

Vancouver, 14 November 2024 – The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver hosted the 7^th Leg of the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) Training for Philippine Foreign Service Posts (FSPs) in Canada and Latin America on 08 November 2024, followed by the Internet Voting Information Drive for Filipino community leaders the next day. Both events are part of the Philippine government’s ongoing efforts to implement internet voting for overseas Filipinos in the 2025 National Elections (NLE), a significant milestone in the Philippines’ electoral history.

The two-day training was conducted by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) led by Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, and by the DFA-Overseas Voting Secretariat (OVS) led by Undersecretary and DFA-OVS Chairperson Jesus Domingo. COMELEC Commissioners Nelson Celis, Aimee Ferolino, Rey Bulay and Inting Socorro also participated in the training.

To prepare Canada and Latin America FSPs in their role as COMELEC’s election partners in the historic 2025 NLE, COMELEC trained their personnel on the intricacies of the online voting system which is envisioned to improve voter turnout among Filipinos abroad.

The Internet Voting Information Drive, meanwhile, was attended by 60 Filipino community leaders under the jurisdiction of the Consulate. The second day  provided the Filipino leaders with a preliminary information and a live demonstration of the online voting platform.

Undersecretary Domingo, in his remarks, emphasized the importance of the votes of almost a million Filipino-Canadians in ensuring a progressive future for the Philippines.

Acting Head of Post and Consul Analyn thanked the Filipino community leaders, some of whom travelled from as far as Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and the Yukon, for making the dedicated effort to participate in the internet voting information drive. She highlighted the crucial role of Filipino community leaders in disseminating the information on the online voting process to Filipinos within their communities.

The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver encourages the Filipino Community to stay updated and watch out for further announcements on the 2025 National Elections.

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