LOS ANGELES—More than 16,000 Filipinos from around the world have registered to become Overseas Absentee Voters (OAV) for the 2013 National Elections with Los Angeles leading the way.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, as of January 18, of the 16,332 Filipinos from around the world that have registered as OAVs, Los Angeles has the most with 1,760.

JOCELYN “Joy” Ronquillo Ancheta, a Filipino-American, will be sailing with the Vaka Pacific Voyagers to represent the Polynesian and Austronesia legacy of the ancestral Philippine mariners. Jocelyn Ancheta, is the sole Filipino to be selected as a crew member to join the prestigious Vaka. This will be the third leg of the Vaka Pacific Voyage. The flotilla of seven traditionally based Polynesian deep sea cones set sail on Tuesday morning January 24, 2012 from Spanish Landing West, San Diego, California. The third leg South of the Vaka voyage will feature these destinations: Cabo San Lucas Mexico, the Cocos Islands of Costa Rica, the Galapagos islands, the Marquesas islands, and the islands of Tahiti.