SEOUL, 10 April 2016 - A record number of 353 registered Filipino voters came to the Philippine Embassy in Seoul to cast their ballots on the first two days of the overseas polls for the 2016 national elections, the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) for South Korea said on Sunday, 10 April 2016.

The Embassy's SBEI Chair Ella Karina Mitra, Third Secretary and Vice Consul, said 106 registered voters personally cast their ballots on Saturday, 9 April 2016, the day the 30-day voting period started worldwide, and 247 did the same on Sunday, 10th of April. "I encourage each and every registered overseas Filipino voter in South Korea to exercise his or her right to suffrage this coming 2016 elections," said Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez in a message posted in the Embassy's official website. "Let us all remember that each vote counts. Let's get involved, participate and vote in the 2016 elections." The first voter in South Korea, a long-time resident of the city of Ansan in Gyeonggi Province, was at the voting venue even before the doors opened at 8:00 am Korea Standard Time (7:00 am in Philippine Standard Time) at the Embassy Chancery's Rizal Hall on the second floor. South Korea is one of 17 overseas posts, including four in Asia, that have adopted a mixed voting system, combining personal and postal voting. At the same time, the results will be counted using an automated Smartmatic Vote Counting Machines (VCM), making Seoul one of 30 cities that will produce a quick count when polls close on 9 May 2016. Under this postal voting option, the Embassy either sends mailing packets containing the official ballots and other election paraphernalia to voters who have made a request for it by 22 April 2016 or makes them available for pick-up by the voters at the Embassy polling station or such other voting areas designated by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). Additionally, the Embassy will conduct field voting in Korea's second and fourth biggest cities of Busan and Daegu on 22 to 23 April and 29 to 30 April, respectively. Registered voters in those two field voting sites can submit their ballots via postal voting South Korea has more than 11,000 registered overseas Filipino voters making the Embassy of the Philippines in Seoul 5th among the embassies and consulates general in Asia in terms of number of registered voters.