Temporary closure of Philippine Consul General in NY will not affect election — official

The temporary suspension of consular services at the Philippine Consulate in New York will not affect the ongoing overseas absentee voting (OAV), Consul General Elmer G. Cato said Wednesday.

In a video message, Cato issued an apology to Filipinos who will be affected by the temporary closure explaining that a number of consulate personnel testing positive for COVID-19 prompted the decision.

He also assured that voters could cast their ballots stressing the 2022 May polls remains their “priority”.

“Gusto namin i-assure ang ating mga kababayan especially those who are waiting for their ballots to allow them to participate in the forthcoming national elections that our overseas voting processes and operations will not be affected. We are giving priority to this,” he said.

(We want to assure our fellow Filipinos, especially those who are waiting for their ballots to allow them to participate in the forthcoming national elections that our overseas voting processes and operations will not be affected. We are giving priority to this.)

Almost 60 percent of about 40,000 official ballots from the Commission on Elections have been sent to the post office as of April 20, the envoy said.

The shortage of manpower will not hamper it, Cato added, as he vowed the consulate office will work hard to assure that all Filipinos residing in northeastern America will receive their ballots.

“We would like to assure them that as long as there are some of us standing we will continue sending out those ballots,” he said.

“In fact, ngayong gabi andito pa kami we're still sorting out, we're still processing, putting stamps and sealing those envelopes so we can bring them to the post office tomorrow… Makakaasa ang ating mga kababayan na gagawin namin ang lahat ng aming makakaya para maipadala po sa kanila ang kanilang mga balota,” he added.

(In fact, tonight, we’re still here, we’re still sorting out, we’re still processing, putting stamps, and sealing those envelopes so we can bring them to the post office tomorrow. Our fellow Filipinos can trust we’re going to do everything to deliver their ballots.)

It can be recalled that the arrival of the vote-counting machine, official ballots and election materials to be used for the OAV by the Philippine Consulate General in New York experienced a delay.

The delay affected thousands of registered Filipino voters in New York; New Jersey; Boston, Massachusetts; Connecticut; Pennsylvania; Main; Vermont; Rhode Island; New Hampshire; Delaware, and Maryland. -- BAP, GMA News