Filipino Seamen in Portugal Get to Vote for the First Time

To reach a sector mostly excluded in the polls, the Philippine Embassy in Portugal has devised a way to reach the Filipino seafarers and let them vote, reports Inquirer.net. “We call it 'akyat-barko' (boarding the ships), ” Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuiller told reporters of the unique system he designed. “It was just one of the crazy ideas I had. Because why would they come to the Embassy to vote? They have no time. Their ship arrives at 7 a.m., they leave at 6 p.m. And of course they want to go out there [to see the city],” said Lhuiller in an interview in Manila.