21 November 2019, Tel Aviv - Seventy Philippine foreign service personnel overseeing the conduct of overseas voting convened in Israel for a regional conference and workshop on the upcoming registration of overseas Filipino voters, which will begin in September 2020.

The workshop, which gathers diplomats from all Philippine embassies and consulates in Europe, including a few ambassadors is the first-ever regional meeting conducted by the Philippine government in Israel, and is organized by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), a constitutional government body mandated to oversee the conduct of elections for Filipinos worldwide. The COMELEC delegation was led by two of its commissioners, Commissioner Marlon S. Casquejo and Commissioner Antonio T. Kho, Jr.

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial welcomed the delegates to Israel, saying that COMELEC's decision to conduct the training for European posts in Tel Aviv reflected the Philippines' growing awareness of Israel both as a bilateral partner and regional hub. "We see this as a clear indication that the Philippines is beginning to see Israel as a possible regional hub for accessing both Europe and the Mediterranean," the envoy said. "We hope this opens the door to Israel serving as a venue for more of our regional conferences and workshops, particularly once direct flights open up between Tel Aviv and Manila."

The ambassador acknowledged concerns about security, which were raised after rocket alerts went off over southern and central Israel only days before the training workshop was held, but said that these were adequately addressed after the Embassy consulted relevant Israeli officials. "We coordinate closely with our counterparts in the Israeli government on the security situation, and we are confident that they have the situation well in hand," he said. "There are some precautions that must be taken, and we have shared these with our delegates, but to be fair, there are certain precautions that we must all take when visiting other cities."

The three-day workshop is a refresher course for Philippine foreign service personnel assigned to manage the conduct of elections for the over 30,000 Filipinos based in the European region. COMELEC holds regular regional training workshops to ensure that the necessary personnel are adequately informed and equipped to implement the orderly and transparent conduct of elections for overseas Filipinos who, under Philippine law, are empowered to cast their direct votes for all candidates running for national positions. END

Ambassador Neal Imperial (1^st row, 5^th from right) with the delegates from the Philippine embassies and consulates in Europe. Philippine Ambassador to Poland Leah Basinag-Ruiz (1^st row, 4^th from left) and Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican Grace Princesa (1^st row, 5^th from left) participated as representatives of their respective posts.

COMELEC Commissioners Marlon S. Casquejo (2^nd row, 4^th from left) and Antonio T. Kho, Jr. (2^nd row, 6^th from left) joins Ambassador Neal Imperial, Ambassador Grace Princesa, Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) Acting Vice Chairman Edgardo O. Castro (2^nd row, 2^nd from left) with the participants, other COMELEC officials, and OAVS secretariat.