MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 6, 2012) – The Philippine Embassy in Lisbon has concluded the Overseas Absentee Voting registration for some 6,171 seafarers who filed their application during the six-month long Akyat-Barko campaign.
Inspired by the success of its first ship mobile registration onboard the cruise ship MS Crystal Symphony in May, the Embassy´s OAV team embarked on a series of visits to various ships which called on the ports of Lisbon and Porto in Northern Portugal.
The team was able to visit 57 ships, among them the Costa Cruises, Aida Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, P&O Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd, Saga, Holland America Lines, Silver Cruises, MSC Cruises, Fred Olsen, Crystal, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, which had their brief stopovers in Lisbon and Porto.
Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier, who assumed his post in Lisbon only on October 8, was the last to register on October 31, the last day of OAV registration.
With the opening of the Philippine Embassy in Lisbon in 2010, Filipinos living in Portugal no longer have to travel to Paris to avail of consular services and to register for OAV. Filipino seafarers, many of whom have not voted for more than 10 years because of their frequent absence from the Philippines during election time, were elated over the campaign.
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