THE Department of Foreign Affairs and the Commission on Elections have conducted a regional on-site training in Honolulu, Hawaii, as part of preparations for the continuing registration and certification of overseas Filipino voters for the 2028 Philippine presidential elections. Held recently in the United States, the training brought together representatives from Philippine Foreign Service Posts (FSPs) across the Americas, underscoring the government’s push to strengthen overseas voter participation in the next national polls. Participants included officials and personnel from the Philippine embassies in Washington, D.C., Brasilia, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Mexico, and Ottawa, as well as from the Philippine consulates general in Agana, Calgary, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Personnel from other FSPs, including those in Brunei, Yangon, and Osaka, also took part in the training. During the opening program, newly designated Overseas Voting chairman Undersecretary Leo Herrera-Lim commended the Philippine consulate general in Honolulu for hosting and organizing the activity. He urged FSP representatives to proactively promote and facilitate overseas voter registration, emphasizing that enabling Filipinos abroad to vote is essential to safeguarding their political rights and strengthening democratic participation. Philippine Consul General in Honolulu Arman Talbo welcomed the delegates and highlighted the importance of interagency cooperation in ensuring the smooth implementation of overseas voting processes. In her closing remarks, Comelec Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, who serves as commissioner-in-charge of the Office for Overseas Voting, called on FSPs to sustain their collaboration with Comelec to help ensure a strong turnout of registered overseas voters. The training focused on the general instructions governing the registration and certification of qualified overseas Filipinos. FSP personnel designated as administering officers and members of the Resident Election Registration Boards were briefed on their specific roles and responsibilities. Meanwhile, participants assigned as voter registration machine operators underwent both theoretical and hands-on training on the use of voter registration machines that will be deployed for overseas registration. The Hawaii training follows similar on-site regional training sessions conducted in Europe and the Middle East in November 2025, as part of a broader capacity-building program for overseas voting personnel worldwide.