Photo by Democrats Abroad (DA) Philippines (DAPh) member Joan Corpuz shows (left to right) DAPh Vice-Chair and Database and Social Media Manager Angelo Goode, DAPh member Tricia Jimenez, DAPh former Chair John Boyd, DA Lion City (Singapore) former Vice-Chair and DAPh former Treasurer Bill Gelman, DAPh Events Committee Bing Gelman, and DAPh Secretary and Events Committee Chair Jeremy Slagle at the Elks Club in Makati City.

Events Committee

DAPh Secretary Jeremy chairs the Events Committee, composed of DAPh member Bing, DAPh Communications Manager Morrie Kayanan, and DAPh member Don Goertzen.

Database Clean-Up and By-Law Changes

DAPh Chair Lisa Pagkalinawan is presently point person for Database Clean-Up and By-Law Changes, but is happy for other members to contribute to these two important initiatives.

Memorial Day and Fourth of July Events 2019 

DAPh Chair Lisa is also point person for our Memorial Day and Fourth of July 2019 events.

Phone Calls to Voters Worldwide

DAPh member Dean Shuey continues as point person for phone calls to voters worldwide.

Veterans Day at Clark and Thanksgiving Day Events 2019

And DAPh former Chair John B. continues as point person for Veterans Day at Clark and Thanksgiving Day 2019 events.

Dates of Next Meetings

Saturday February 2, 2019 at 2pm in Makati: Progressive Drinking Party

Saturday April 6, 2019 at 3:30pm in Makati: General Meeting Q2 2019 

And because we decided to hold four general meetings for 2019 quarterly (Q), the next general meeting Q2 2019 is on Saturday April 6, 2019 at 3:30pm at the Elks Club, 7th Floor Corinthian Plaza, Paseo de Roxas corner Legaspi Street, Makati City.

Announcements and further details of our next meetings and activities will follow, so members please check your email. If you are not yet a member of Democrats Abroad, you can become one by signing up at DemocratsAbroad.org. Visit Democrats Abroad Philippines website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Democrats Abroad (DA) Philippines (DAPh) Chair Lisa Pagkalinawan reports on activities held in 2018. Photo by DAPh member Joan Corpuz.

2018 Events

On September 8, 2018, we held a voter registration open house in which we helped four people register to vote.

On October 4, 2018, DAPh members were invited to a lunch-time talk and dinner featuring former Democratic senator from Virginia Jim Webb. A Vietnam War veteran, Webb was Navy secretary in the Reagan administration, and he ran and won his Senate seat in 2008 as a moderate Democrat. He was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the US House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and a Marine Corps officer. In the private sector, he has been an Emmy Award winning journalist, a filmmaker and the author of ten books. In addition, he taught literature at the US Naval Academy and was a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. The lunch talk was held during the Rotary Club of Manila’s monthly meeting at the New World Hotel and the dinner was a casual event at the Elks Club. During the lunch event, DAPh member Elian Habayeb asked a question during the open forum. And during the dinner, DAPh Chair Lisa talked with Jim about three issues DA is advocating:

1. Residency-based taxation
2. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) reform
3. Medicare portability.

On October 6, 2018, we held a voters’ open house in Ortigas where we helped two people with registering and answering questions about voting. By phone and email, we received inquiries and assisted some five people.

On November 7, 2018, we had an election watch event at Union Jack Tavern in the morning and an evening reception at Farfalla Ristorante Italiano.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 2018, we visited American detainees at the Bicutan Immigration Detention Facility in Bicutan and brought them food, reading materials and other necessities. We did not participate in Memorial Day or Veterans Day events in 2018. But we have continued to provide support for a few incarcerated Americans, with DAPh former Chair John Boyd and DAPh member Dave Kuchenbecker making regular visits with logistical support from DAPh Chair Lisa. DAPh member Dave has made efforts to compile a list of detainees and offer assistance.

DAPh member and entertainment event planning company owner Tyrone Norwood and DAPh Chair Lisa want to put together a fundraiser mixer to give expats a chance to have some hometown fun.

2018 Phone Banking and Text Blasts

DAPh member Dean Shuey continued his exceptional efforts in Getting Out the Vote (GOTV) by calling Americans worldwide to encourage them to vote in important elections. Well done DAPh member Dean for being DA's number two GOTV caller!

DA sent out two text blasts to DAPh members before the election to offer support with registering and submitting their ballots. DAPh Chair Lisa received only two replies to the first text and some 20 replies to the second. She assisted several of the some 20 people by phone and email to request and return their ballots.

2018 Membership

At the end of 2018, we had 930 members. However, only 596 or 62% are considered valid. To be considered "valid," members must meet the following conditions:

1. Be approved as a member
2. Have a local street address and/or local phone number
3. Be verified as still living in the Philippines within the past four years.

2018 Social Media

On October 7, 2018, DAPh Vice-Chair Angelo Goode posted a short article with instructions on how to vote from abroad in the Philippines on DAPh's Facebook  and Twitter accounts and his LinkedIn. The posts directed readers to DemocratsAbroad.org and VoteFromAbroad.org as DAPh member Dean recommended in order to increase traffic to the DA websites and give Americans the option of becoming DA members.

Like DA France, DA Canada and others, DAPh participated in the social media campaign to encourage overseas Americans to vote by re-posting announcements with overseas voting information per state such as registration, vote and return ballot deadlines, as well as reminders to follow up and confirm overseas votes were received and counted.

DAPh Vice-Chair Angelo also re-posted:

1. News articles highlighting reasons why Americans should vote Democrat from CNN, The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, USA Today, BBC, Guardian, Reuters and Associated Press for instance
2. Graphics on: ratify the Equal Rights Amendment; racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia; health care; immigration; LGBT* rights; voter turnout; climate change; women's rights; Republican policies that caused the 2018 deficit such as Trump and Bush tax cuts, wars and base defense increases; the importance of Secretaries of State elections; and voter suppression; among others
3. Videos explaining how easy it is to vote and why Americans should vote, and on the issue of guns
4. The DA I Voted from Abroad meme in support of the meme going viral, and a couple of DA surveys on voting experience and GOTV Phone Banking.

DAPh former Treasurer Irene Sobrevinas posted on Facebook news articles, graphics, videos and other information on diversity, why I am a Democrat, anti-Trump sentiments, cooperative economics and US-Philippine relations and affairs for example.

DAPh member Joan updated the DAPh address on our Facebook page.

On Facebook, at the end of 2018, 255 people liked our page, of which 51% are women and 48% are men. And our Facebook  followers come from 27 countries.

DAPh also gained a new member through Facebook, DAPh member Nancy Longatan. And on Facebook, DAPh former Treasurer Irene and DAPh Vice-Chair Angelo clarified DAPh's role toward the voting process for someone who had questions.

On Twitter, DAPh Twitter Account #1 @DemsAbroadPhils (unofficial DAPh Twitter account) has 143 Twitter followers and DAPh Twitter Account #2 @DemsAbroadPH (official DAPh Twitter account) has 20 Twitter followers. And on DAPh's official Twitter account (Account #2), DAPh Vice-Chair Angelo recommended to an Oregon voter that Oregonians in the Philippines get a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to fully access their state website voting functions.

Become a member at DemocratsAbroad.org, visit Democrats Abroad Philippines website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Photo by Democrats Abroad (DA) Philippines (DAPh) member Joan Corpuz shows (left to right) DAPh Chair Lisa Pagkalinawan, DAPh member Edmund Garcia, DAPh Events Committee Don Goertzen, DAPh Treasurer Kathy Bergeron, and DAPh member Dean Shuey at the Elks Club in Makati City.

Happy New Year DA Philippines!

DA Philippines held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019 on Saturday January 19, 2019 from 4-6pm at the Elks Club, 7th Floor Corinthian Plaza, Paseo de Roxas corner Legaspi Street, Makati City.

Some 20 DAPh members attended and DA Australia (DAA)-Victoria Chapter member Michael Ramos joined by Skype to listen in. Although DAA-Victoria member Michael holds no elected positions within Democrats Abroad, he founded and is appointed Chair of the DA Hispanic Caucus. He also serves on the DA Tax Task Force, the DA Progressive Caucus, the DA Black Caucus, and the unofficial DA Veterans and Military Families Caucus.

We reported on activities held in 2018, elected officers for 2019-2021, and discussed activities for 2019.

Welcome DAPh Leadership 2019-2021!

Officers

Lisa Pagkalinawan was re-elected Chair, Angelo Goode was elected Vice-Chair, Jeremy Slagle was elected Secretary, and Kathy Bergeron was re-elected Treasurer.

Management 

Morrie Kayanan was elected Communications Manager, and DAPh Vice-Chair Angelo later confirmed his acceptance of multiple positions including Database Manager and Social Media Manager.

Next General Meeting Q2 2019

Because we decided to hold four general meetings for 2019 quarterly (Q), the next general meeting Q2 2019 is on Saturday April 6, 2019 at 3:30pm at the Elks Club, 7th Floor Corinthian Plaza, Paseo de Roxas corner Legaspi Street, Makati City.

Announcements and further details of our next meetings and activities will follow, so members please check your email. If you are not yet a member of Democrats Abroad, you can become one by signing up at DemocratsAbroad.org. Visit Democrats Abroad Philippines website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Photo by Democrats Abroad (DA) Philippines (DAPh) member Joan Corpuz shows (left to right) DAPh members Dean Shuey, Donald Kwok, Vicki Indiati, John Sachs, DAPh Communications Manager Morrie Kayanan, DAPh member Omar Tiwana's sister Yasmin Tiwana, DAPh members Dave Kuchenbecker, Angela Reyes, DAPh former Vice-Chair Gene Boggs, DAPh member Tricia Jimenez, DAPh former Chair John Boyd, DA Lion City (Singapore) former Vice-Chair and DAPh former Treasurer Bill Gelman, DAPh Events Committee Bing Gelman, DAPh Secretary and Events Committee Chair Jeremy Slagle, and DAPh Vice-Chair and Database and Social Media Manager Angelo Goode at the Elks Club in Makati City.

DA Philippines held its Annual General Meeting on Saturday January 19, 2019 from 4-6pm at the Elks Club, 7th Floor Corinthian Plaza, Paseo de Roxas corner Legaspi Street, Makati City. We reported on activities held in 2018, elected officers for 2019-2021, and discussed activities for 2019.

Here are the:

1. Agenda for the January 19, 2019 meeting
2. Annual Report for 2018
3. Minutes from the January 19, 2019 meeting.

If you are not yet a member of Democrats Abroad, you can become one by signing up at DemocratsAbroad.org. Visit Democrats Abroad Philippines website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Democrats Abroad (DA) Philippines (DAPh) held a Voters’ Open House on Saturday October 6, 2018 from 2-5pm in Ortigas at Profiles Asia Pacific, Inc., One Magnificent Mile-CITRA Building, 39 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Thanks DAPh member Jocelyn Pick for providing the space for us!

We helped people with registering to vote, requesting ballots, and answered questions about voting in the November 2018 election. For those who already had ballots, we provided a “voting booth” where voters could privately fill out their ballots. And we provided information about whether or not voters needed to mail their ballots or if they can email or fax it back, and answered other questions they had.

Due to new state laws regarding absentee ballots, we could only provide verbal assistance and couldn't assist with putting ballots in envelopes or mailing them. Voters could either drop their ballots off at the US Embassy or mail it through the Philippine Post Office with registered mail safest.

If you are not yet a member of Democrats Abroad, you can become one by signing up at DemocratsAbroad.org. Visit Democrats Abroad Philippines website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

We work to advance the principles of our Party by spreading the Democratic message to Americans in the Philippines and encouraging them to vote for Democratic candidates back home. ~ Democrats Abroad Philippines, 2018

1. Request Your Ballot

Go to www.VoteFromAbroad.org and click the Request Ballot tab, which brings you to the Register to Vote/Absentee Ballot Request page. Note: when filling in your Voter Information, for US citizens living outside the country who intend to return, choosing the first option “I am a U.S. citizen living outside the country, and my return is uncertain” may be the safest answer to ensure you receive your absentee ballot if you will be abroad for some time. Follow the instructions on the website and ask for your blank ballots to be delivered to you electronically by email if possible. The website will tell you if your state allows the return of your request electronically or if you must submit a paper copy with original signature.

2. Receive and Complete Your Ballot

If you are set to receive your electronic ballot by email, keep an eye out for an email with the subject line: 2018 General Election Official Ballot. It will include instructions on how to vote and return the ballot. Note: perhaps best to print your blank electronic ballot, fill it up, hand sign it, and scan.

3. Return Your Completed Ballot

If you received your electronic ballot by email, follow the instructions in the email on how to return it. If you must mail a paper ballot from the Philippines, we suggest using the Philippine Post Office and send it using registered mail which only costs about PhP200 (US$4).

For Further Information

If you have any questions about registering to vote overseas from the Philippines, please contact Democrats Abroad Philippines at email [email protected] or call +63.917.892.2989.

Remember, your vote counts! Be absent but accounted for! VOTE NOW! DON’ T WAIT!!

If you are not yet a member of Democrats Abroad, you can become one by signing up at DemocratsAbroad.org. Visit Democrats Abroad Philippines website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Photo shows (left to right) Democrats Abroad (DA) Philippines (DAPh) former Chair John Boyd, DAPh Chair Lisa Pagkalinawan, and DAPh members Dave Kuchenbecker and John Sachs at the Bicutan Immigration Detention Facility in Taguig City.

On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 22, 2018, DA Philippines visited American detainees at the Bicutan Immigration Detention Facility in Taguig City and brought them food, reading materials and other necessities. We have continued to provide support for a few incarcerated Americans, with DAPh former Chair John B. and DAPh member Dave making regular visits with logistical support from DAPh Chair Lisa. DAPh member Dave has made efforts to compile a list of detainees and offer assistance.

If you are not yet a member of Democrats Abroad, you can become one by signing up at DemocratsAbroad.org. Visit Democrats Abroad Philippines website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

(1) ELECTION 2018: THE RESULTS on WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7 at 8AM-11:30AM.

Join Democrats Abroad Philippines to watch the 2018 Midterm Election Results LIVE at UNION JACK TAVERN-MAKATI, Ground Floor Citiland Condominium III Building, 105 V.A. Rufino Street corner Esteban Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City. Self-paid à la carte menu available.

(2) POST-ELECTION 2018 on WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7 at 6PM-9PM.

Recap the 2018 Election results with fellow members of Democrats Abroad Philippines at FARFALLA RISTORANTE ITALIANO at HOTEL DURBAN, 4875 Durban Street and Makati Avenue, off Burgos Street, Makati City. Celebrate the end of Election 2018 (and—fingers crossed—a positive outcome). Enjoy an all-day P100 cocktail catalog.

RSVP at 0917.892.2989 or [email protected]

Like Democrats Abroad Philippines on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DemocratsAbroadPhilippines/

and

follow us on Twitter @DemsAbroadPH

Interesting talk with former Democratic senator from Virginia @JimWebbUSA on October 4, 2018. Thank you Rotary Club of Manila for organizing it and inviting @DemsAbroadPH. Webb was Reagan's Navy secretary, but won his Senate seat in 2008 as a moderate Democrat. Photo shows Senator Jim Webb, Lisa Pagkalinawan and Angelo Goode.

The US Embassy and American Association of the Philippines will hold their annual Memorial Day ceremony earlier that Sunday, May 27 at the American Cemetery in Taguig City. It is open to the public and some members of Democrats Abroad plan to attend. The ceremony starts promptly at 8 and ends at 9. Best to be there by 7:30 to get a seat near one of the fans! A limited number of cars are allowed to enter and park or you can get dropped off at the entrance and either walk to the memorial or take a shuttle that will be circling back and forth.