CALL OF THE TIMES: FULL PARTICIPATION IN THE PHILIPPINE AND U.S. ELECTORAL PROCESSES

A few weeks before the start of the Overseas Voting for the Philippine national elections and amid the ongoing primaries for the next general elections in the U.S., Consul General Generoso D.G. Calonge called on the Filipino American community in Chicago and the Midwest to take full advantage of the freedom and democracy they enjoy to exercise their right of suffrage.

More than a million registered voters in various countries around the world will have a chance to select the next Philippine President, Vice-President, twelve Senators and a Party-list Representative in the House of Representatives for one month beginning on April 9. Under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago, which covers Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin, more than twelve thousand are registered voters.

“I call on all our kababayans, Filipino immigrants, and particularly those who have dual citizenship status, to make your collective voice heard in the halls of power both in the Philippines and in the U.S. by participating in the coming elections,” Consul General Calonge said. “Regardless of personal beliefs or leanings, everyone’s participation is important and necessary for the strengthening of the democracy and freedom, considered as the bedrock of our civil and political liberties and shared values with the United States.”

“This election year is all the more important because we will be selecting the highest leaders in the Philippines who will shape the direction of our national policies in the next six years, and the impact of the overseas voters that can tip the balance in a tightly contested field cannot be overlooked,” the Consul General said.

While Filipino Americans have for decades contributed so much to the economic and social development of their adopted country, Consul General Calonge observed that the room for involvement in political life remains wide open.

With the formal grant of independence by the United States on 4 July 1946, the Philippines, imbued with full sovereignty, has stood on equal footing with its former colonial master in the comity of nations.

Consul General Calonge continued, “Filipino Americans can keep this bond of friendship strong by showing our commitment to freedom and democracy as a way of life. And there is no better way to do it than through participation in the electoral exercise where our sovereign will is concretely manifested.”

Immediately after the overseas voting, the Consulate General will then be gearing up for the 118th Independence Day celebration in June as well as the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Philippines-US diplomatic relations on July 4th with activities in cooperation with the villages of Skokie and Morton Grove, among others.

The Consulate General will be extending electoral duties in four cities where voters residing in those cities and surrounding areas can experience the Automated Election System through the use of a Vote Counting Machine (VCM) for a safer and faster counting of ballots. Field voting will be held in the following cities:

1. Baton Rouge, Louisiana Venue: (TBC) ; Date: Saturday, April 30
2. Southfield, Michigan Venue: Philippine American Community Center, 17356 Northland Park Ct. Southfield, MI 48075; Date: Saturday, April 23
3. Maplewood, Minnesota Venue: Philippine Center in Minnesota, 1380 Frost Ave., Maplewood, MN Date: Saturday, May 7
4. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Venue: Midwest City Community Center, 200 N. Midwest Blvd., Midwest City, Oklahoma 73110; Date: Saturday, April 16

The Consul General has also kept the Consulate speeding ahead with its consular outreach program for the year. It has started coordination with eleven community partners in co-organizing mobile consular services from June to November.

The Consulate also intends to resume its collaboration with U.S. federal agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Labor Relations Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in raising awareness and further educating Filipino employees, as well as business owners, about workers’ rights under federal laws.

The Consulate will further intensify its efforts to promote cultural and people- to-people relations with various events in partnership with Filipino community organizations from the Piyesta Pinoy in Chicago this coming March 20 leading up to the celebration of the Filipino American History Month in October. Plans are afoot for a historical and scholarly Symposium on Filipino Migration to the United States as a joint project with the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu and Philippine Honorary Consulate in New Orleans to coincide with the Filipino American History Month.

The promotion of trade, investment and tourism ranks highly among the Consulate’s priorities and programs for 2016, which set off when a delegation headed by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Nora Terrado visited Chicago last month and conducted a forum on the booming Business Process Management industry in the Philippines particularly its value in supporting the Healthcare sector across national boundaries.

The Consulate General also announced earlier that the Filipino community’s role is essential in advancing the Congressional Gold Medal Act for Filipino Veterans of World War II. In a recent “Pagkikita sa Konsulado,” Deputy Consul General Romulo Victor Israel Jr. explained how the bills pending in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives stand a chance of being enacted. The sixteen-state jurisdiction of the Consulate covers 113 congressional districts, each of which has a voting member in the current U.S. Congress.

Consul General Calonge expressed hope that Filipino Americans who number about 340,000 residing in the same given area would make a strong appeal to their representatives for support of the bill.

In the same manner, Filipino associations and media organizations as important stakeholders in safeguarding freedom and democracy are encouraged to take part in the overseas elections as Accredited Partners of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).

“We always point to and cannot overemphasize the need to have honest, open and peaceful elections that reflect the mandate of the people and ensure a smooth and stable transition in the government,” Consul General Calonge said.

Finally, as part of the preparations for the overseas voting, the Consulate will have the Final Testing and Sealing of the VCM, which includes mock voting and is open to the public on Thursday, March 31, 6:30 p.m. At the same time, a Voters’ Education Forum will also be held, showing video messages that have been submitted by Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. ##