The Philippine Embassy in Vientiane, Laos conducted a consular and field voting mission in the northern provinces of Xayaburi and LuangPrabang from 25-28 April 2019. Ms. Iris Vanessa Caranzo, Third Secretary and Vice Consul and Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) Chairperson; Ms. AnnalynVallena, Finance Officer and SBEI Poll Clerk; and, Ms. RhanjynCamongol, Consular Assistant and Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Officer, and SBEI Member, comprised the consular and field voting team.

During the missions, the team provided consular services, namely passport renewal and Embassy registration to around 200 Filipinos working and residing in Xayaburi and LuangPrabang. The Embassy also conducted a short meeting with workers in Andritz to provide them with information on the Embassy’s consular and ATN services. The team also conducted overseas absentee voting for the purposes of the 2019 National and Local Elections during the mission, and a total of 99 Filipinos casted their votes.

The majority of the Filipinos in the north reside inXayaburi province, where they are employed by Whessoe and Andritz for the construction of the Xayaburi Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant. Meanwhile, Filipinos in LuangPrabang are mostly teachers, engineers, and hotel staff.

          The Embassy is set to conduct another consular and field voting mission in southern Laos from 2 to 5 May 2019. End.