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RESOLUTI ON NO. ~
The Commission o n Elec ti ons, pursuan t to the authority ves ted in it by the
Constitution, Batas Pambansa Big. 88 1 (Omnibus Election Code), Republic Act No. 8189,
Republic Ac t No. 9189 (The Overseas Absen tee Vo ting Act of 2003) as amended by
Republ ic Act No. 10590, Republic Act No. 9369 and o ther electio n laws, RESOLVED, as
it hereby RESOLVES, to promul gate the following General Inshuctions for the Special
Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) and Special Ballot Recep lio n and Custod y Group
SBRCG), in the conduct of manual voting and counting of votes for purposes of the May
9, 2016 National and Local Elections.
ARTICLE I
DEFINITION OF TERMS
d. Day of Election s - the actual date of elec ti ons in the Philippi nes
which is May 09, 201 6;
e. Departm e11t of Foreign Affairs-O vers eas Voting Sec1'etar iat (DFA-
OVS)- secretari at based at the Departm ent of Foreign Affairs (DFA) home
offi ce tasked to assisl the O ffi ce for Oversea s Vo ting (OFOV) und er the
Commis sion, and to direct, coordina te and oversee the participa tion of the
DFA in the impleme ntatio n of the Overseas Voting Act of 2003, as
amend ed;
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(})
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v. Voting Period- a continuo us thirty (30)-d ay peri od, the last
day of w hich is the day of election as defined under letter " d"
hereof, inclusive of es tablished holidays in the Philippines and s uch
other holi da ys in the host counhies.
ARTICLE II
SPECIAL BALLOT RECEPTI ON AND CUSTOD Y GROUP
Sec. 2. Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group; constituti on. -The
Commissio n, throu g h the Commissi oner-in-ch arge of OFOV, shall, upon
recommen dation of the DFA-OVS, constitute in every Post, starting Februaty 1,
2016 up to February 14, 2016, an SBRCG, which shall be composed of three (3)
members.
Additiona l SBRCG in Posts may be constitute d w here the registered
vo ters are more than forty thousand (40,000).
Jn case of shortage of qualified staff of the Posts, citi zens of the Philippines
w ho are qu ali fi ed to register or vote under the Overseas Votin g Act of 2003, as
amend ed, and of know n probity and competence, m ay be appointed as m embers
of the SBRCG, provh.led that the chairperso n shall be a staff of the Posts. The
H ead of Pos t sha ll issu e th e A ppointme nt of the Cha irperson/ Poll
Clerk/ Members/ Subs titutes of the SBEI /SBRCG.
Sec. 4. Disqual ifica tio n. - The m embers of the SBRCG or their spouses
shalJ no t be related w ithin Lhe fourth civil deg ree of consangu inity o r affini ty to
any member of the sa me SBRCG or to any of the candida tes for President, Vice
Preside nt, and Se na tor.
a. Receiv e fro m the Comm ission thro ugh the OFOV, all accoun ta ble
and
no n-acco untabl e electio n forms, s upp lies and para pherna lia to be used
in
vo ting, counti n g and ca nvassing;
b. Verify, u sin g the packin g lis t, the quanti ty and seria l numbe rs
of all
ball o ts, elec ti on re turns and can vassin g forms, a nd o ther accoun tabl
e
forms, rece ived in the presence o f the head o f the Pos t or his/ he
r
authorized repres enta ti ve, wa tchers of p olitica l parties and
rep resent a ti ves of the Filipin o comm unity, if ava ilable.
c. Notify the OFOV within twenty -four (24) hours a fter veri ficatio n,
of the
receip t of accoun table a nd non-accountable fonT\S, condit ion thereo f and
discre pa ncy, if a ny, the qua ntity and se rial numbe rs of the accoun table
forms;
d . Sto re in a secure place all rece ived forms and suppli es; a nd
ARTIC LE III
SPECI AL BOAR DS OF ELEC TION INSPE CTOR S
Each SBEI sh a ll ha ndl e not n1ore than four tho usan d (4,000) voters .
In
excess of four thousa nd (L
!,OOO) voters, additio nal SBEis may be consti tuted upon
approv al of the OFOV .
The SBEI sh all be compo sed of a Cha irperso n a nd two (2) Memb ers w
ho
shall be public officer s pos ted abroad and d e puti zed by the Comm ission,
one of
w hom shall be d esigna ted as P oll Cler k and the o ther as Third Me mbe r.
The H ead of Post s hall issue the Appo inhnen t of the Cha irperso n/ P
oll
Clerk/ Me mbe rs/Sub s titutes o f the SBEI/ SBRCG .
a. Is of good m o ral cha racter and irrep roacha ble r eputat ion;
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,.
Any caree r publ ic office r poste d abroa d desig nated by the Comm
ission , as
the case may be, shall act as the chairp erson . In the absen ce of
o ther gover nmen t
office rs, the two (2) other m embe rs shall be citi zens of the Philip
pines who are
qualif ied to register or vote under the Overs eas Votin g Act o f
2003, as amen ded,
and deput ized by the Comm ission .
For this purpo se, the OFOV s hall furnis h the Post throu g h the
DFA- OVS,
the list of presid entia t v ice presid ential and sena torial candi dates,
not Jater than
Janua ry 30, 2016, so tha t the m ember s of the SBEis will be able
to know w h e ther
they are qualif ied or no t to accep t their appoi nhnen ts.
Sec. 10. Notic e of disqu alific ation. - Any memb er of lhe SBEI
w h o is
disqu alified for any of the above reaso ns shall as soon as possib
le, notify the
head of the Post in w riting, w h o sh alt in turn appoi nt a replac
emen t from the
pool of substi tutes and imme diate ly no tify the OFOV of such appoi
ntmen t.
Sec. 11. Temp orary vacan cies in the SBEI/ SBRC G. - If a t the
time of the
meeti ng of the SBEI/ SBRC G, any member is absen t or the office
is still vacan t,
the mem be rs prese nt sh all call upon a ny subst itute taken
from the pool of
substi tutes, to perfo rm the duties of the absen t memb er. If the
subs titute ca nno t
be found , the Head of Lhe Post shall appoi nt any avai lable officia
l or e mploy ee of
the Foreig n Servic e Corps or non-p artisa n regist ered voter
n ot otherw ise
disqua lified to tempo ra rily fill sa id vacan cy until the absen t memb
er appea rs or
th e vacan cy is fill ed.
The fact of subs titutio n sha ll be entere d in the Minu tes of Perso
nal Votin g
(OVF No. 11).
For this purpo se, the Posts shall cons titute a pool of subst itutes
fo r the
SBEf/ SBRC G w hic h w ill likew ise be d ep uti zed by the Comm
ission . Th e
substi tutes mu s t posse ss a ll the qualif icatio ns and none of the
disqu alifica tions
provi ded und er these rules.
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present , before any oversea s voter. The accomp lished Oaths of SBET/SBRC G
shall be submit ted to the SBRCG.
Sec. 13. Powers and functio ns of the SBEJ. - The SBEI shall have the
foll owing powe rs and function s:
a. Condu ct the voting a nd/ or countin g of votes in persona l voting, and the
countin g of vo tes in postal voting in countri es w he re the same has been
authori zed by the Commi ssion;
b. Act as deputie s of the Commi ssion in the supervi sion and conhol of the
elec tion in the polling place w he re they are assigne d;
c. Mainta in order within the polling place and its premise s, to keep access
thereto open and unobstr ucted, and to enforce obedien ce to its law ful
orders. Person s who refuse to obey its lawful order, or conduc ts
themse lves in a disorde rly manner in its presenc e or wit-hin its hearing
and there by interru pts or disturb s its proceed ing, the SBEI may call upon
the security fo rce of the Post, if any, or its deputiz ed peace officer to take
such pe rson into c ustody until the adjourn ment of the meetin g, but such
order shall no t be execute d as to preven t the person hom voting; and
Sec. 14. Procee dings of the SBEI. - The meetin g of the SBEI shall be
public and held in the polling place designa ted by the Commi ssi on. The SBEI
shall act through its Chairp erson and shall decide, withou t d elay, by a majo rity
vote, questi ons which may arise in the perform ance of its duties. The
Chairp erson of th e SBET shall attest all resolut ions issued by the Board.
Sec. 15. Minute s of person al voting. - The SBET shall accomp lish in two
(2) copies the Minute s of Personal Voting (OVF No. 11) and record the act or data
require d therein as they occur or become availab le during the vo ting. Copies of
the OVF No. 11 shall be sealed in separat e e nvelopes to be dis hibuted as follows:
Sec. 17. Superv ision by Heads of Posts. - All foreign service personn el
and represe ntativ es of a ttached agencies duly deputiz ed by the Commi ssion
shall be under the direct supervi sion of the H eads of Posts insofar as the O ne
Countr y Team Ap proach is concern ed .
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Sec. 18. Voting privilege of members of the SBET/SBRCG. -
Governme nt employee s pos ted abroad, who w ill p erform election duties as
members of the SBEl/SBR CG, shall be all owed to vote in their respec tive posts
p rovid ed they are r egistered as vo ters e ither in the Ph ili pp ines or as overseas
voters.
ARTICLE IV
WATCHE RS DURING VOTING AND COUNTI NG OF VOTES
Sec. 19. Watchers. - Every regis tered political party or coalition of politica l
parties fi elding candidate s, accredited political parties, sectoral
party j organ ization or coa lition thereof participat ing in the party-list system of
representa ti on, every ca nd idate, accredited citizens' arms and accredited OFW
organi zations shall be entitl ed to o ne (1) watcher at any gi ven time during the
voting and counting o f votes.
For this purpose, registered political parties, coal ition of p olitical parties
and every candidate, associa tions or organ iza tions participating in the party-list
system of representa ti on, accredi ted citize ns' arms and accred ited OFW
organi zations shall submit to the Posts, copy furnis hed the OFOV, its list of
watchers pe r SBEJ no t later than five (5) days be fore the start of voting period.
e. Is no t r ela ted w ithin the fourlh civ il degree of consangu inity or affini ty to
the ch airperson or to any member of the SBEJ in the Post w here said
person seeks appoi ntment as wa tcher.
Sec. 21. Rights and duties of watchers. - Upon entering the p olling place,
the wa tchers s hall present and d eliver to the chairperso n of the SBEI the ir
appoj nhnents and forthwi th, the ir nam es shall be recorded in OVF No. 11 w ith a
no ta tion und e r the ir s igna tures that they are no t disqu alified to serve as such .
The appointm e nts of the wa tch ers sha ll bear the personal or facsimile signa ture
of the candid a te or Lhe du ly a u thorized representa tive o the polilica l party,
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organization o r coaliti o n of parties w ho appoin ted them or of organi
za tions
a uthori zed by the Comm iss ion.
c. Take pho tograp h of the procee dings and incide nts, if any, d uring
the
counti ng of votes, as well as of the electio n returns, tal1y board and bal1o
t
boxes/ recept acles;
d . File a protes t aga inst any irregu larity or v iolatio n of law which
they
believ e may have been comm itted by the SBET or by any of its m ember s or
by any perso n;
e. Obtain from lhe SBEJ a certifica te as to the filing of such protes t and
/ or
resolution thereo n;
f. Read eac h ball ot after it is read by the chairm an, as well as the electi on
return s afte r it is accom plishe d and signed by the membe rs of the SBEI
withou t tou ching s uch docum e nts; and
g. Be furnish ed, upon reques t, w ith a Certifi cate of Votes (OVF No.13)
cast
for the can d id ates, du ly s igned and thumb marke d by the chairp erson and
all memb ers of the SBEI.
ARTIC LEV
ELECTION FORM S AND SUPPL IES
Sec. 22. Electio n forms, docum ents and supp1i es. - The SBRCG shall
receiv e from the Co mmiss ion throu gh the OFOV the elec tion forms, d ocume
nts
and suppli es for its use and fo r dishibution to the SBETs and SBOCs
. Excep t
w hen authori zed to do so earlie r by the H ead of Post the SBEls shall
get the
forms, docum ents a nd suppli es early in the m orning of each voting day.
The
alloca tion of the forms, docum ents and suppli es shall be accord ing
to the
follow ing:
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2-A List of Voters w ith Votin g Recor ds
1 Set
---
2-B Certified Lis t of Seafa rer-Voters
1 Copy
4 Certified List of Cand idates for Presid ent, Vice-P reside nt,
12 Sets
Senat ors, and List of Parties, Sec toral Organ izatio ns or
Coalitions Partic ipa ting under the Party-List Syste m
4-A Alpha betica l Lis ting of Party Lis t with Raffle N umbers
1 Set
5 Appo intme nt of SBEI/ SBRC G
9 Pieces
5-A Oath of O ffice of SBEI/ SBRC G
9 Pieces
6 O fficia l Ballots
1 Piece per
Voter
11 Minu tes of Perso nal Votin g
1 Set of 2 pieces
12 Paper sea ls
5 Pieces
]4 Certificate of Recei pt of Form s a nd Suppl ies for Votin g by
2 Pieces
the SBEI
..
SUPPLIES
Ba llot Secrecy Fold ers 12 Piece s
Ball pens 12 Pieces
10
Thum bprin t Take rs/Stamp Pad
5 Pieces
Colla psibl e Ba llot Box
1 Piece
Ballo t Rece ptacle / inerLC on
1 Piece
ELECTION FOR MS (COU NTIN G)
-
Colla psibl e Ballo t Box to Contain Bal lots to be coun ted
1 Piece
-
9 Election Retur ns
1 Set
-
10 Ta lly Boa rd
1 Set
-- -
11-A Minu tes of Co untin g
1 Se t of 2 pieces
13 Certificate o f Voles
10 Pieces
14-A Certi ficate of Receip t of Form s and Supp lies for Coun
ting 1 Set of 2 Pieces
16 Envelop e for Coun ted, Excess, Mark ed, Spoil ed, and
5 Pieces
Inval id Official Bal lo ts
SUPP LIES
Ba ll pen
3 Pieces
Rubber Ba nd
8 Piece s
Bond Pape r (Long)
30 Pieces
Carbon Pap er
5 Shee ts
It shall bear the coa t-of-a rms of the Repu blic of the
Phili ppin es, the word s
"Official Ball o t", the nam e of the Pos t and coun try in
w hich the election is to be
held, the date of the elec tion and the follo wing notice
in English: Fill out tltis ballot
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secretly using a ballot secrecy fo lder. Do not put any distinct ive mark on. any pnrl of this
ballot.
It shall conta in the approp riate spaces for Preside nt, Vice Preside nt,
Senator, and accred ited poli tica l parties, sectora l party/organiza tion or coalitio n
thereof particip ating in the party-li st system o f represe n tati on.
ARTIC LE VI
CASTI NG AND SUBM ISSION OF VOTES
Sec. 24. Who are allowe d to vote. - All oversea s voters may vo te for
Preside nt, Vice Preside nt, Senator s and any one (1) of the accredi ted
party / organiz ation or coa li tion particip ating under the party-li s t system of
represe n ta ti on .
Sec. 25. Period for casting of votes. -Castin g of votes shall be for a period
of thirty (30) continu ous calenda r days beginni ng at 8:00 o'c1ock in the mornin g
of April 09, 2016, local time of the host country until 7:00 o'clock in the evenin g
of May 09, 2016, Philipp ine tim e, inclus ive of all establis hed holiday s in the
Philipp ines and such o ther ho lid ays in the hos t countri es.
Except on April 09, 2016 w here a ll Posts are require d to open a t 8:00
o'clock in th e mornin g, local time of the host country , the Post may adopt a
flex ible schedu le for the o peratio n of the various SBEis; provide d that their
schedu le is continu o us a nd it will no t be less than e ight (8) hours a day. The
voting h ours may be ex tended taking into accoun t the numbe r and influx o f
voters and the primar y respons ibilities and functio ns of the membe rs of th e
SBETs.
If a t 7:00 o'clock in the evenin g of May 09, 2016, Philipp ine time, the re
are still voters w ho h ave yet to cast their votes w ithin the thirty (30) meters
radius of the pollin g place, the vo ting shall continu e to allow the voters to cast
their votes wi th ou t interrup tion . The Po ll Clerk shall, w ithout delay, list the
names of said voters. The vo ters listed shall be ca lled to vo te by the Poll C lerk by
announ cing each name three (3) limes in the order in w hich they are listed. Any
voter who is not prese nt w hen ca lled s hall not be permitted to vote a t any la te r
time.
Sec. 26. Place of vo ting. -Casti ng of vo tes shall be done in the designa ted
voting area w ithin the prem ises of the Post that has jurisd iction over the country
where the voter resides , or a t any field voting, mobile voting or polling place
designa ted a nd authori zed by the Cornmj ssion.
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ARTI CLE VII
PERS ONA L VOT ING
Sec. 27. Perso nal votin g.- A mode of voting where the
vo ters perso nally
appe ar to cast their votes a l the Pos ts or such o ther votin
g a reas d esign ated by
the Comm ission.
Sec 28. Proh ibitio ns on perso nal votin g.- The voter shall
not:
Sec. 29. Rul es to be obser ved durin g the votin g.- Durin
g the votin gf the
SBEI s ha ll e ns ure that:
Sec. 30. Minu tes of perso nal votin g. -The SBEI sha ll accom
plish in two
(2) copie s the Minu tes o f Pe rsona l Votin g (OVF No. 11) and
recor d the act or data
requi red there in as they occ ur or becom e ava il able durin
g the vo ting. Copi es of
the OVF N o. 11 s ha ll be sea led in sepa ra te envel opes to be
dishi buted as foll ows:
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.
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d. The ass istor sha ll acco mpli sh the baJio t for the illite
rate or phys ically
disab led vo te r using a ball o t secre cy folde r/vo ting boot
h in the prese nce
of the la tter; and
Sec. 32. Chal leng e of illeg al voter s. - Any vote r or watche r may
chall enge a vo ter for:
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The cha lleng ed pe rson s ha ll take an oa th
befo re the SBE I of hav ing not
com mitted any of the acts a llege d in the
chal lenge and acco mpl ish the Oat h of
Vo ter Cha lle nged for Ill egal Acts (OV F
No. 39). Upo n ta king such oath , Lhe
c halle nge sh a ll be dis miss ed and the vote
r sha ll be a llow ed to vote . In case the
vote r refu ses to take s uch oath , the ch allen
ge shal l be su s tain e d a nd the vote r
shall n ot be a ll owe d to vote.
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..
3.1 If Lhe sam e, s ign the Ack now ledg men t Rece
ipt on OVF
No.14;
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.aJ
2. Brea k th e seal o f the Ball ot Rece ptacl e;
6. Dep osit the Ballo t Rece ptacl e with SBRC G for safek
eep ing;
7. Requ ire the SBRC G to ackn owle d ge recei pt of
the Ballo t Rece ptacl e
us ing the logb ook m a inta in ed for the purp ose; and
7. Acco m p lish O VF N o. 11 .
In succ eedin g day s, befo re the start o f v oting, sh ow
to the publi c that the
OVF No . 42 of the ballo t box is intac t.
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2. The Poll C lerk shal l veri fy from the OVF
No. 2- A if the voter's nam e is
incl uded th ere in.
a. 1f the vote r's na me is incl uded , the
Poll Cler k sh all asce rtain the
id enti ty thro u g h the pho to prin ted in OVF
No. 2-A. Tn the abse nce of
the vote r's pho to, the voter's vali d pass port
or any id entification card
bear in g the vo ter's p h otog raph and sign
atu re sh all be requ ired .
IK
2. Afte r acco mpli shin g the ball ot the vote r sha
ll fold it in the sam e man ner
as rece ived ;
d . Requ est addi tion al ba llo t box from the SBR CG;
and
e. Acco mp lish OVF No. 11.
Sec 41. Proc edur es for spoi led ball ots. -The Cha
irpe rson shall:
1. With out unfo ldin g the ba ll ot, writ e the word
"SPO fLED " at the back of
the ballot;
4. Indi ca te the ' 'vord "SPO ILED " in the OVF No.
2-A oppo s ite the nam e of
the vote r;
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How ever, in no case sh all the rep lacem ent of the ball
o t be mad e more than
once .
20
,
6. Place one half of the torn ballots inside OVF No. 16 and the other
half in another OVF No. 16;
7. Seal both envelopes w ith paper seals. These shall remain sealed
unless the Commission orders otherwise;
8. Require the Third Member to accomplish OVF No. 11 and place the
same in corresponding envelopes. Seal the envelope conta ining the
OVF No. 11 copy for the ballo t box. The OVF No. 11 (copy for the
Commission) shall not be sealed.
9. Submit, together with the other members of the SBEI, the following
to the SBRCG:
a. Sealed ballo t box with accomplis hed ballots;
b. CLOV;
c. OVF No. 2-A;
d . OVF No. 11 (Copy for the Commission);
e. Ballot Receptacle containing the following:
1. OVF N o. 16;
11. OVF No. 11 (Copy for the Ballot Box); and
iii. Other election forms, supplies and paraphernalia.
ARTICLE VIII
POSTAL VOTING
For mailing packets sent directly to the voter, the vo ter may either mail or
personally deliver the accomplished ballot to the Post.
For mailing packets sen t directly to the post, the vo ter may pick-up the
mailing packet from the post or the SBRCG may mail the same to the voter. The
voter may either mail or personally deliver the accomplished ballot to the Post.
Sec. 44. Contents of the mailing packet. - The mailing packet shall
contain the following:
1. Official Ballot (OVF No.6);
3. Instructions to Voters;
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Sec. 45. Preliminaries to postal voting. - The OFOV shall send, no t later
than March 24, 2016, the following:
1. The mailing packets, either directly to the voters or to the Posts, throug h
the SBRCG;
2. Soft copy of the mailing lists where Lhe serial numbers of lhe ballots,
paper seals and official ballo t envelopes assigned to the individual voter
are reflected;
Sec. 46. Procedures for sending mailing packets to the voters by the
Post.- Upon receipt of the mailing packets, the SBRCG shall:
2. Verify the addresses of the voters to ensure that the format of the address
is correct. If the format of the add ress is incorrect, the SBRCG shall rev ise
the format to conform wilh lhe prevailing addressing system in the post.
For this purpose, the Post may use a new mailing envelope to repackage
the ballots, paper seal, ballot envelope, instru cti ons to vo ters and certified
lists of candidates;
4. Inform the voters that their ballots are ava ilable for pick-up, or mail the
ballots directly to the voters.
2. Affix their sig na tures on lhe ballot coupon which is loca ted on the lower
portion of th e official ballot;
3. Detach the ballo t coupon from the ballo t. Then place the ballot coupon
inside the Ballot Envelope;
4. Fold the official ballot in such a way th at its con tents will not be seen and
sea l it wi th a paper seal;
5. Place the accomplished ball ot inside the Ballot Envelope and seal the
sam e;
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6. Write their names and affi x their signa tures on the upper left-hand corner
of the Ballo t Envelope;
Failure to affix their signatures shall invalidate the ballot.
Sec. 48. Reception and verification of the ballot envelopes. - The SBRCG
shall:
A. Reception procedures
1. Assign receptacles each for valid ballo ts, invalid ballo ts and questionable
ballo ts for each country/territory under its jurisdiction;
2. Receive and s tamp on the face of the Ballo t Envelo pe and op posite the
name of the voter in the OVF N o. 2-A, the da te and time of receipt, as it is
received :
ii. After the close of vo ting hours, place the Ball o t Envelope inside
the receptacle for " Invalid Ballots".
fl. If the signa ture is no t iden tical, write "no t identical" on Lhe
Ball o t Envelope and place the sam e inside the receptacle for
"Questi onable Ballots";
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c. If there is no signatur e, place the Ballot Envelope inside the
receptacle for " Inva lid Ballots";
3. Ballot Coupon
a. If the b all o t coupon is insid e the Ballot Envelope, verify if its
serial number is the same as that indicated in the OVF No.2-
A. If the same, return the ballot coupon ins ide the Ballot
Envelope and place the same in the receptacle for "Valid
Ba11ots" . lf not, write "not the same serial number" on the
Ballot Envelope, return the baJJot coupon inside said
envelope, and place the same in th e receptacle for "Tnvalid
Ballots" .
4. Close and seal each receptacle at the end of each voting day;
6. Once the number of ballot envelope in each receptacle for valid and
questionable ba ll ots reaches two hundred (200), close and seal the
receptacl e and indica te the number for issuance to the SBEJ for
counting;
Sec. 49. Invalid ballots. - The following constitute invalid ballots and
shall not be included in the counting:
2. Those contained in the Ballot Envelopes but received after the close of
voting hours on election day;
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3. Those contained in the Ball o t Envelopes, but the envelo pes d o not bea r the
signatures of the voters; or
4. Those con tained in the Ball o t Envelopes w he re the serial numbers of the
ballot coupons are diffe re nt from the assigned numbers as ind icated in
OVF No. 2-A.
2. Those contained in the Ballo t Envelopes, but the e nvel opes bear only the
names of the voters.
Sec. 51. Returned mailed ballots. - refer to mail packets conta ining the
ballots sent to but no t received by the voters and which were forwarded to the
Posts wh ere the voters are registered .
1. Upon receipt of the returned m ailed ballo ts, prepare a list of names of the
voters w hose mail ed ballo ts have been re turned to the Posts. At the end of
every voting day, inform the OFOV, through the DFA-OVS, of the names
of voters w h ose mail packets were forwarded to the Post.
4. Take into custod y and keep an inventory of the returned m ai led ballots
that were no t forwarded to the voters.
5. All retu rned mailed ba ll ots received after the voting the pe ri od or were
not forwarded to the voters shall be shipped to Lhe OFOV by diplomatic
pouch to DFA-OVS w ithin six (6) months from the day of elections for
onward tTansmittal to OFOV. The ballots contained in the returned mails
are deem ed cancelled;
6. Submit to the OFOV a report prescTibed by the Commi ssion, not later than
thirty (30) days from the day of elec tions.
ARTICLE IX
VOTING BY SEAFARERS
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fishermen, w ho are registered overseas voters, may cast their ballots during the
voting period .
Sec. 54. Procedures. -The foll owing voting procedures for seafarers sha ll
be observed:
1. During the voting period, seafarers may vote at any Post adopting
personal vo ting or, in case of postal voting, in any Post with internationa l
seaports as identified and recommend ed by the DFA-OVS;
4. The OFOV shall give each Post conducting personal voting, and those
condu cting postal votin g with identified internationa l seaports, copies of
the OVF No.2 and OVF No. 2-B for seafarers.
5. For purposes of monitoring and recording, the Post shall, as the case may
be, at the end of each voting day:
a. Prepare a list of the names of the seafarers w ho cas t their votes; and
7. The Posts, upon receipt of the updates from the OFOV, shall indicate
opposite the names of the seafarers in the OVF No. 2-A, the date and place
where they voted .
26
..
ARTICL E X
FIELD VOTIN G
Sec. 55. Field Voting. - Refers to the conduct of voting for a limited
period of time outside the Pos t in places w here fi eld registrati ons were
conducte d abroad or in such other areas as may be authoriz ed by the
Commis sion or DF A-OVS.
Sec. 56. Mobile Voting. - Refers to the cond uct of voting for a limited
period of time outside the Pos t, in connecti on with the consular ouheach
program of the DFA, in places authori zed by DFA-OVS w ith prior no tice to the
Commission.
Sec. 57. Guidelin es. - The followin g guidelin es are hereu nd er provided
in the conduct of field/ m obile vo ting:
a. The host governm ent allows such field vo ting;
b. The conduct of fi eld voting wi ll no t comprom ise the secu rity, integrity
and sanctity of the vo ting process;
f. For fi eld voting, the Post must submit a written reques t to the OFOV and
must indica te the date, number of estimate d overseas vo ters who will vo te
during the fi eld voting and the costs. Such requ est shall be subject to the
approva l of the Commis sion, through the OFOV, prov ided that s uch
r equest sh all be favourab l y recomm e nded by the DFA-OVS, and provided
further, that the conduct thereof shall be w ith least expense on the part of
the Commis sion or DF A-OVS;
g. For mobile voting, the Post must submit a written notice to the OFOV and
must ind ica te the date, number of es timated overseas vote rs w ho w ill vote
during the mobile voting.
h. The SBEI/SBRCG for field/ mobile voting shall be taken fro m the regu lar
SBEis/SB RCGs earlier deputi zed by the Commis sion, thro ug h the OFOV
Chairpe rson.
In cases where the Pos t has only one (1) set of SBET/SBRCG , it may
recomm end to the Commis sion to deputi ze add itional two (2) personnel
w ho w ill be d eputi zed as SBET/SBRCG that w ill conduct Lhe fie ld / mobile
voting. There shall be no add itional honorar ia for the m embers of the
SBEI/SBRCG, if they are taken from the regular SBEI/SBRCG;
i. The SBEis/SB RCGs must bring copies of OVF No. 2 and a template of
OVF No. 2-A; and
27
.1 The pertinent provisions on personal or p os tal voting, as the case may be,
shall be o bserved .
ARTICLE XI
PROVISIONS ON COUNTING
Sec. 58. Counting site. - The counting of votes shall be conducted on site
in the country w here the votes were actually cas t within the premises of the
Posts, or in such o ther places as m ay be designated by the Commission.
For person al vo ting, the SBEis for voting shall also act as SBEls fo r
counting.
The Post shall, if necessary, ac tivate ad diti onal SBETs for counting no t later
than one day before the last day of voting period . The p os t shall immediately
s ubmit to the Com m ission, Lhrough the OFOV, the names of the m embers of the
additional SBEis and their design ati ons.
Sec. 60. Manner of counting. - The coun ting of vo tes shall be conducted
publicly and w ithout interrup tio n. Unless o therw ise or dered by the Commission,
the SBET shall no t adjourn or postpone or delay the co unting until it has been
full y comp leted.
Sec. 61. Start of counting. -The counting of vo tes shall start immed iately
after the close of voting hours on elec tion d ay.
Sec. 62. Minutes of counting of votes.- The SBEI shall accomplish in two
(2) copies the Minutes of Counting (OVF No. 11-A) and r ecord the ac t or data
req uired th erein as they occu r or become available during the counting.
The SBEI must sign cop ies of the OVF No. 11-A, seal in separate envelopes
and distribute as fo ll ows:
a. First copy to the Comm ission; and
b. Second cop y to be de posited inside the ball ot box.
ARTICLE XII
PRELIMINARIES TO COUNTING
Sec. 63. For personal voting. - Before the sta rt of coun ting, the SBRCG
shall, in the presence of representatives/wa tchers of political par ties and Fili pino
communities, if ava il able:
28
1. Assign precinct number to the SBEI.
3. Record in OVF No. 14-A the quantity and serial numbers of accountable
form s and supplies to be issued to the SBEJ.
5. Count the ballots and compare the total number with the number
indica ted outside of the ballo t box;
If the number of ballots exceeds the total number indica ted outside of the
ballo t box, return all the ballo ts into the ballot box and thoroug hl y mix the
same. The Poll C lerk, with his back to the ball ot box, shall publicly dra w
out as m any ballo ts equal to the excess, place them in the OVF No. 16 and
note such fact on OVF No.11 -A.
If the number of ballots is less than the to tal number indica ted o utside the
ballo t box, note su ch fact in OVF No.ll-A.
6. Take out the spoiled ballo ts if any, and the ballo t co upons found inside
ballo t box compartment for valid ballots and place them inside OVF No.
16, and note such facts in OVF N o.ll -A;
7. Exam ine the ball ots, whether there are ballots with un-detached ballot
coupons. The ballot coupons shall be removed and placed inside OVF No.
16. TI1e number of ballots with un-detached coupons should be indica ted
in OVF No. 11-A. The ballots shall be included in the pile of valid ball ots.
8. Unfold the ballo ts face down, and form separate piles of one hundred
(100) ballots each, held together by rubber bands and proceed to count the
ballo ts in the m anner prescribed in these Rules.
29
A. In the presence of representa tives/watc hers of political parties and
Filipino communi ties, if any, the SBRCG shall:
1. AIIocate in accordanc e with the rate of dishibutio n indica ted in OVF
No. 14-A, the accountab le forms and s upplies to be used by each SBEI
in counting.
2. Record using OVF No. 14-A the quantity and serial numbers of
accountab le forms and supplies to be issued to the SBEJ.
4. Ope n the receptacle s for "Valid Ballo ts" and "Question abl e Ballots" to
rehieve the ballo t envelopes .
6. Place the ball ot envelopes in separate ballo t boxes, one for " Valid
Ballo ts" and another for "Question able Ballo ts".
2. Open first the ballo t box containing the "Question able Ballots";
3. Take o ut all the envelopes and segrega te them according to the type of
"Ques tionabl e Ballo ts" as indica ted by the SBRCG;
4. Count the e nv elopes and compare the to tal number w ith the number
ind icated outside of the ballot box.
30
5. Proceed to th e Verific ation Process for Q uestion able Ballots;
Open the accomp lished ballot to determ ine whe ther the ba llot coupo n
is still attache d. In case the ballot co upon is still attache d to the ball ot,
remove the ballot coupon, and follow the proced ure in verifyin g its
serial numbe r.
2. After the verifi ca tion process, open the ball ot box contain ing the
valid ball o ts inside the envelop es;
4. Count the ballo t envelop es and compar e the to tal nun1be r with the
numbe r indica ted ou tside of the ballo t box. Tf the numbe r of ball ot
envelop es exceeds the total numbe r indica ted outside of the ballot
box, return all the envelop es in the ballot box and thoroug hly mix
them . The Po lJ Clerk, w ithou t looking inside the ballot box, shall
publicl y draw o ut as many envelop es equal to the excess, place
31
them in the Envelo pe for Excess Ballots, and note the number of
excess envelop es and the action taken in the OVF No.11-A;
5. Open the Envelo pes and take out the official ballo ts;
6. Unfold the ballots face down and form separat e piles of one
hundre d (1 00) ballots each; and
ARTIC LE XIII
PROCE DURE FOR COUN TING
2. The Chairp erson, the Poll Clerk and the Third Membe r shall position
themse lves in such a way as to give the watche rs and the public an
unimpe d ed view of the ballo t being read by the Chairperson, as well as of
the Overse as Voting Election Returns (OVF No. 9) and Tally Board (OVF
No. 10) being simulta neou sly accomp lished by the Poll Clerk and the
Third Membe r, respec tively . The watche rs and the public shall no t tou ch
any of the electio n docum ents;
3. The Cha irpe rson shall take the ballots from the first pile one by o ne and
read the names of the candida tes voted for and the offices for w hich they
are voted as well as the name/ acrony m/ raffle numbe r of the party,
organiz ation or coalitio n voted fo r under the party-li st system of
represe ntati on, in the order in which they were written on the ballot;
For this purpos e, the ballots cast by oversea s voters in one country or
territor y under the consula r jurisdic tion of the Post, must be reflecte d in
a separat e Electio n Return s .
4. The Poll Clerk and the Third Membe r shall record by a vertica l line in the
election returns and in the tally board, every vote o btained by each
candid ate and party, organiz ation or coalition particip ating under the
party-li st sys tem of represe ntation , as it is read.
The SBEI shall ensure that the entries on the fi rst copy of the
election returns are clearly impressed on lhe o ther copies.
5. After finishin g the first pile of ballots, add and reco rd the s um of votes
obtai ned by each candida te and the party, orga ni zatio n or coali tion
particip ating unde r the party-li st system of representation, immed iately
after the last tara on the election returns and on the tally boa rd. In case of
discrep ancy in the total betwee n the electio n returns and the tall y board , a
32
recount shall be m ade. Th e ballo ts shall agam be grouped together as
before;
6. The same procedure s ha ll be fo ll owed w ith the succeeding pi les o f ball ots.
10. The C hairperson s hall publicly announce the to tal number of votes
received by each ca ndidate for Senator and party, sectoral organ ization or
coa lition participa ting in the party-li st sys tem of rep rese ntation;
11 . T he Poll Clerk shall then immed ia tely announce the p osting of the fo urth
copy of the said election returns on a wall with sufficient lightin g w ithin
the premises of the polling pl ace and proceed to post the sam e in the
presen ce of the o ther members of the b oard , the watchers and those
present in the pollin g center.
Th e copy of the e lection r e lurns pos ted on the wall s ha ll be o pen for
public v iewing at any time of the day for forty -e ight (48) h o urs foll owing
its posting. Any person may v iew or capture a n image of the e lection
re turns by m eans of any d a la capturing d ev ice s uch as, bul not limited to
ca meras, a t any time of the d ay for forty-eight (48) ho urs fol lowing its
p osting.
After the prescribed p eriod for postin g, the C ha irperson of the SBEI
shall collect the pos ted elec tion re turns and take custod y of the sam e to be
produced for image o r d a ta cap turing as may be requested by any vo ter or
for a ny lawful purpose as m ay be ordered by competent au thority .
12. The SBEI sh all fold each copy of the elec lion returns, seal wi lh a seria lly
numbered paper sea l, and p lace in its corresp o nding envelope.
13. The co unted ballo ts s hall be placed ins ide OVF No. 16 w hich s ha ll be
closed, signed, and sealed . The tally board, as accomplished and certi fied
by the SBEI, shall be pl aced inside the ball o t box/ recep tacle togethe r w ith
the envelope containing the counted ba ll o ts b efore subm iss io n to the
SBRCG.
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14. Dishibute the envelo pes containing the electi on returns as provid ed in
these Rules.
Sec. 66. Preparatio n of overseas voting election returns and tally board.-
1. The SBEis shall pre pare in their own hanJ writing the elec tion returns and
the tall y board simultane ously w ith the counting of the votes in their
respec ti ve counting areas. The election returns shall be prepared in eight
(8) copies.
2. The Chairpers on shall shictly ensure that all the followin g data are
e ntered in the electi on returns:
Sec. 67. Alteration and correction in the election returns. - Before the
announce ment of the results of the election, the SBETmay, on its own, m ake any
correction or alteration in the election returns, prov ided, that all the members
thereof dul y initial the correction s or alterati ons.
After announce me nt of the results of the election in the polling place, the
SBEI shall not make any alterati on or amendme nt in any of the copies of the
election returns.
ARTICLE XIV
APPRECI ATION OF BALLOTS
Sec. 69. Rules for the appreciat ion of ballots. - Tn the r eading and
apprecia tion of ball o ts, eve ry ballo t shall be presumed to be valid unl ess the re is
clear and good reason to justify its rejection. The SBEI shall obser ve the foll owing
rules, bearing in mind tha t the object of the election is to obtain the expression of
the voters' w ill :
a. Where only the first name of a ca ndid ate or only his/ he r s urname is
written the vo te for such candid ate is valid, if there is no o the r candid ate
w ith the sa me first nam e or surnam e for the sa me office.
34
b. Where only the first name of a candidate is written on the ballot which
when read, has a sound similar to the surname of another candidate, the
vote sha11 be counted in favor of the candidate with such surname. If there
are two or m ore candidates w ith the same full name, first name or
surname and one of them is the incumbent, and on the ballot is written
only such full name, first name or surname, the vote shall be counted in
favor of the incumbent.
d. When two or more words are written on the same line on the ballot, all of
which are the surnames of two or more candidates, the same shall no t be
counted for a ny of them, unless one is surname of a n incumbent who has
served for at least one year in which case it shall be counted in favor of the
latter.
. When two words are written on the ballot, one of which is the first name
of a candidate and the other is the surname of his/ her opponent, the vote
shall not be counted for either.
g. A name or surname incorrec tly written which, when read, has a sound
similar to the n a me or surname of a candidate when correctl y written shall
be counted in his/ her favor.
35
not inva lidate the whole ballot except when it is used as a means to
identify the voter, in w hich case, the w ho le ball o t shall be void.
j. The erro neous initial of the firs t name w hich accompan ies the correct
surname of a candidate, the erroneous initial of the surname
accompan ying the correct first name of a candidate , or the erroneous
middle initial of the candid a tes shall not annul the vo te in favor of the
latter.
k. The fact that there exists anothe r person wh o is no t a candidate w ith the
first nam e or surna me of a candida te shall no t prevent the ad judica tio n of
the vote of the latter.
l. Ballots which contain prefixes such as "Sir", "Sr. ", "M r.", "Datu", "Don",
"Ginoo", "Bon.", "Gob.", or s uffixes like " Hijo", "Jr.", "Segund o", are
valid.
m. The use of the n icknam es and appe ll ations of affectio n and friends hi p, if
accompan ied by the firs t name or surnam e of the cand ida te, does not
annul such vote, except w hen they were used as a m eans to iden tify the
voter, in w hich case the whole ballot is inva li d: Prov ided, Tha t if the
nickname u sed is unaccomp ani ed by the na me or surname of a candidate
and it is the one by which he is generall y or popularl y known in the
locali ty, the name shall be counted in favor of said cand idate if there is no
o ther candid a te for the same office w ith lhe same nickname.
p. Any ballot w ritten w ith crayon, lead pencil, or in ink, who lly or in pa rt,
shall be valid.
36
q. Where there are two or m ore ca ndidates/ patti es vo ted for in an office for
which the law a uthoriz es the elec ti on of only one, the vote shall not be
counted in favor of any of them, but this shall not affect the validi ty of the
othe r vo tes therein .
r. If the candid a tes voted for exceed the numbe r of th ose to be elected , the
ballo t is valid, but the vo tes shall be counted only in favor of the
candid ates whose names were firstly w ritten by the voter w ithi n the s pace
provide d for said office in the ballot until the a uth orized numbe r is
covered .
t. Ballo ts conta ining the name of a candid ate or party-li st partic ipant printed
and pasted on a blank space of the ballo t or affixed thereto through any
m echanical process are to tally null and void .
u. Circles, crosses or lines put on the spaces on w hich the voter has not voted
shall be conside red as signs to indicate his/ her des istance from voting and
shall no t inva lidate the ballo t.
v. Unless it should clearl y appear that they have been d elibera tely put by the
vo ter to serve as identifi ca tion marks, comma s, do ts, lines, or hyphen s
betwee n the firs t name and surnam e of a candid a te, or in o ther parts of
the ballo t, traces of the letter "T", 'T' and o the r similar ones, the first
letters or syllable s or names which the voter does no t continu e, the use of
two or m ore kinds of w riting and unjnten tional or acciden tal fl o urishes,
shokes or s trains, shall no t inv alidate the ballo t.
w . Any ballo t w hich clearly a ppea rs to have been filled by two d istinct
p ersons before it was deposited in the ball o t box dur ing Lhe voting is
to tally null and void.
y. Ball ots w holly w ritten in Arabic in localities where it is of general use are
valid. To read them, the SBEI may empl oy an interpreter w ho shall take
an oa th that he shall read the vo tes correc tl y.
z. The acciden tal tearing or perfor ation of a ball ot does no t annul it.
aa. Failure to remove the detacha ble ball ot cou pon from a ball ot does not
annul s uch ball ot.
37
' 1
bb. W11en what is written on the ballot is the raffle numbe r of the party list,
the same shall be coun ted in favor of the party list to w hich such raffle
numbe r is ass igned.
cc. When what is w ritten o n the ballot is the acrony m of the party-list or the
correct party-li st nam e but w ith a differen t raffle numbe r, the acro nym or
party-li s t name shall preva il.
dd. When two or m ore words or numbe rs are written on the same line on the
ballo t, all of which are the names, acrony ms or raffle numbe rs of two or
m ore party-li sts, the sa me shall not be counted fo r any of them.
ARTIC LE XV
POST COUN TING PROCE DURES
Sec. 70. Distrib ution of oversea s voting electio n re turns. - The copies of
the electio n returns contain ed in each corresp onding e nvelope shal1 be
distribu ted as foll ows:
1. The first cop y, to the Special Board of Ca nvassers;
2. The second copy, to Congre ss, directe d to the Preside nt of the Senate;
3. The third copy, to the Commi ssion, tluough the ERSD;
4. The fourth copy, fo r posting ;
5. The fifth copy, to th e citizens ' arm authorized by the Commi ssion to
conduc t an unoffic ial count;
6. The sixth copy, to the domina nt majorit y party as d etermin ed by the
Commi ssion in accorda nce with law;
7. The seven th co py, to the domina nt minority party as determ ined by
the Commi ssion in accord ance w ith law; and
8. The eig hth cop y to be deposited inside the ballot box.
The Chairp erson of the SBET, or any membe r authori zed by the
Chairp erson, shall submit personally the first, second and third co pies of the
election returns to the Cha irperson of the SBOC who w ill in turn submit the
second and third copies to the Congre ss and to the Comm ission, respectively.
The SBEI shall distribu te to the represe nta tive of the domina nt majority
party, domina nt minori ty party and citizens ' arm the fou rth, fifth and sixth
copies of the election returns . The SBRCG shall keep all unclaim ed copies of
election re turns until claimed by the pa rties concern ed.
The fourlh co py shall be posted in the w all w here the countin g was
conduc ted and shall be o pe n for public view ing at any time of the day for forty-
eight (48) hours foll owing its pos ting. Any person may v iew or cap ture an image
of the electi on returns by means of any data ca ph.1ring dev ice su ch as, but not
limited to camera s, a t an y time of the day for forty-e ight (48) hours followi ng its
posting
38
Sec. 71. Certifica te of votes. - After the announcement of the results of
the election, upon request, the SBEI may issue to inter ested parties a Certifica te
of Votes (OVF No. 13) dul y signed by all the m embers of the SBEJ.
Sec. 72. Disposi tion of baJiots and other docume nts. - After the
terminat ion of the counting of votes and the accompl ishmen t of election returns
for the precinct.
A. The SBET shall:
1. Place the followin g docume nts inside the ba1lot box:
a. Envelop e containi ng the election returns, (Copy for the Ball o t Box);
b. Envelop es containi ng counted official ballo ts, excess/ invalid /
s poiled / torn half of unused offi cial ballots;
c. Envelop e containi ng the Minutes of Voting (Copy for the Ballot
Box);
d. Envelop e containi ng the Minutes of Coun ting (Copy for the Ballot
Box);
e. Tally Board; and
f. Envelo pes used for postal voting.
3. Deposit to the SBRCG the sealed ballot box together with the
envelop es containi ng Minutes of Voting and Minutes of Co unting.
2. After com p letion of the co unting of votes, keep and reta in at the Posts
all used and unu sed forms, supplies and para phernali a as s ubmitted
by the SBEis includin g unclaime d ballots and returned mails for postal
voting, until further inshuctions from the OFOV.
ARTICL E XVI
PRINTI NG AND TRANS MITTAL OF BALLOTS AND OTHER ELECTI ON
FORMS
Sec. 73. Printing of ballots and other election forms. - The OFOV shalt
through the Commit tee on Printing of the Commis sion, cause the printing of all
accounta ble forms includin g the offi cial ballots for the overseas vo ters not later
than Februar y 01, 2016. Non-accountable forms may be downloa dable from the
OFOV w ebsi te for reprodu ction p urposes.
39
The accredited major political parties, citizens' arms and accredited
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) organi za tions shall be e ntitled to one
representa tive/wa tcher at any given time in all phases of printing, preparatio n of
all mailing packe ts, hansmitta l thereof, and casting of ballots abroad.
ARTICLE XVII
ELECTIO N OFFENSE S/PROHIB ITED ACTS
-10
reducing his salary, wage or compensa tion, o r by demotion, hansfer,
suspensio n, separation , excommu nica tion, ejectment, or causing him
annoyanc e in the performan ce of his job o r in his m embership , any
subordina te m ember or affiliate, parishione r, employee or house
helper, tenant, overseer, farm helper, tiller, or lease holder, for
disobeyin g or no t complying w ith any of the acts ordered by the
former to aid, campaign or vote for or against any candidate , or any
asp irant for the n ominati on or selection of candidates.
e. Threats, intimidati on, terrorism, use of fraud ulent device or other forms of
coercio n. - Any person who, directly or indirectl y, threa tens, intimidate s
or actually ca uses, infl icts or produces any v iolence, injury, punishme nt,
damage, loss or disadvant age upon any person or persons or that of the
immed ia te members of his famil y, his honor or property, or uses any
fraudulen t device or scheme to compel or induce the regishation or
refraining from regishati on of any voter, o r the participati on in a
campa ign or refraining or desistance from any campaign , or the casting of
any vote or omission to vote, or any promise of such regisha tion,
campaign , vote, or omission therefrom .
f. Coercion of elec tio n officials and employees. - Any person who, directly
or indirec tly, tlu-ea tens, intimidates, terrori zes or coerces any election
official or empl oyee in the performan ce of his election functions or duties.
h . Transfer of officers and employee s in the civil serv ice. - Any public official
who makes or causes any transfer or detail w hatever of any officer or
em ployee in the civil service includ ing public school teache rs, w ith in the
election period except upon prior approval of the Commission.
41
employee, or member o r the Armed Forces of the Philippi nes, or any
police force, special forces, home defense forces, barangay self-defense
units and all o ther paTa-military units lhat now ex ist or wh ich may
hereafter be or ganized w ho, directly or indirectly, in tervenes in any
elec ti on campaign or engages in any partisan political activ ity, except to
vote or to preserve public order, jf he is a peace officer.
n. lllegal release of prisoners before and after election. - The Director of the
Burea u of Prisons, any p rovincial warden, the keeper of Lhe jail or the
perso n o r persons requi red by law to keep prisoners in their custody who
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illegall y orders or allows any prisoner d etained in the natio nal
penitentia ry, or the provincia l, ci ty o r municipal jail to leave the premises
thereof sixty days before and thirty days after the election. The municipal
or city warden, the provincia l warden, the keeper of the jail or the pe rson
or p ersons required by law to keep prisone rs in their custody shall pos t in
three conspicuo us public places a list of the prisoners o r detention
prisoners und er their care. Detenti on prisoners must be ca tegori zed as
such.
p. Deadly weapons. - Any person who carries any deadl y weapon in the
p olling place and within a radius of one hundred meters the reof during
the days and ho urs fi xed by law for the regisha ti on of voters in the p olling
place, voting, counting of votes, or preparatio n of the electi on returns.
However, in cases of affray, turmoil, or d isorder, any peace offi cer or
public offi cer authori zed by the Commission to s upervise the election is
e ntitled to carry firearms or any other wea pon for the purpose of
preserving order and enforcing the law.
This prohibitio n sha ll no t a pply to cashiers and dis bursing officers w hil e
in the performan ce of their duties or to persons w ho by nature of their
official duties, profession , business or occupati on habitually carry large
sums of m oney or valuables.
r. Use of armored land, wa ter or air craft.- A ny person w ho uses during the
campaign peri od, o n the day befo re and on election day, any armored
land, water or air craft, provided with any temporary or permanen t
equipmen t or any o ther dev ice o r conbaptio n for the mo unting or
installatio n of ca nnons, machine gu ns and o ther similar hig h ca liber
firearms, including mi litary type tanks, half h~u cks, scout hucks, armored
lrucks, of any m ake o r m odel, w hether new, r econditi oned, rebui lt or
remodell ed : Provided, Tha t banki ng or financial institution s and all
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business firms ma y use n o t more than two armored vehicles shictly for,
and limited to, the purpose of hansporting cash, gold bullion or other
valuables in connection w ith their business from and to their place of
business, upon prev io us authority of the Commissi on.
During the same period, and end ing thirty days thereafter any m ember of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, s pecial, forces, home defense forces,
barangay self-defense units and all other para-mili tary units that now
exist or which ma y h ereafter be organized w ho wears his uniform or bears
arms o utside the camp, garrison or barracks to which he is assigned or
d etailed or outside their homes, in case of members of para-military units,
unless 1) the Presiden t of the Philippines shall have g ive n previous
authority therefor, and the Commission no tified thereof in writing, or 2)
the Commission authori zes him to do so, which authority it shall give
only when necessary to assist it in maintaining free, orderly and hones t
elections, and on Iy afte r no tice a nd hearing. All personnel of the Armed
Forces authori zed by the President or the Commission to bear arms or
wear their uniforms outside their camps and all police and peace officers
shall bear their hu e name, rank and serial number, if any, sti tched in block
letters on a white background on the left breast of their uniform, in letters
and numbers of a clearly legible design at least two cen timeters tall, which
shall at all times remain vis ible and uncovered .
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t. Policemen and provincial guards acting as bod yguards or sec urity guards.
- During the campaign period, on the d ay before and o n election day, any
member of the ci ty or municipal police force, any provincial or sub-
provincial gu ard, any m ember of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
special forces, home d efe nse fo rces, barangay self-defense units and all
other p ara-military units that now exist or w h ich m ay hereafter be
organized who acts as bod yguard o r security guard of any public official,
candidate or any o ther person, and any of the latte r who utili zes the
serv ices of the former as bod yguard or security gu ard: Prov ided, That,
after due n otice and hearing, w hen the life and security of a ca nd idate is
in jeopardy, the Commission is empowe red to assign a t the candidate's
choice, any m ember of the P hilippine Constabulary or the police force of
any municipality w ithin the province to act as his bod yguard or security
guard in a number to be determined by the Commi ssion but no t to exceed
three per candidate: Provided, however, That w hen the circumstances
require immediate acti on, the Commission m ay issue a temporary order
allowin g the assignment of any m ember of the Phili ppine Consta bulary or
the local police force to act as bod yguard or security guard of the
candida te, subject to con firma tion or revocation.
The head s of all reacti on forces, strike forces, or similar fo rces shall, not
later than forty-five d ays before the elec tio n, s ubmit to the Commission a
complete list of all membe rs thereof w ith s uch par ticulars as the
Commission may require.
v. Prohibition aga inst release, d isbursement or expend iture of public fund s.-
Any pu blic official or employee including barangay offi cials and those of
government-own ed or conholled corporations and their subsidiaries,
wh o, dtrring forty-five days before a regul ar electi on and thirty days
before a special election, releases, disburses or expend s any public funds
for :
1. Any and a ll kinds of public works, except the fo ll owing:
a. Mainte nance of existin g and / or completed public works project:
Provided, That not more than the average numbe r of laborers or
emp loyees alread y empl oyed therein during the six-m onth period
immediately pr ior to the beginning of the forty-five day period
befo re electio n day shall be permitted to work d u ring su ch time:
Prov ided, further, Tha t no additional la borers shall be empl oyed
for maintenance work w ithin the said period of forty-five days;
c. Paymen t for the u sual cost of p repara tion for work ing drawings,
specifica tions, bills of m ateri als, es timates, an d o ther proced ures
prepa ra to ry to actual conslTu ction incl ud in g the purchase of
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materia ls and equipm ent, and all inciden tal expens es for wages of
watchmen and other labor ers employ ed for such work in the
central office and fi e!J storeho uses before the beginn ing of such
period: Provide d, Tha t the numbe r of such laborer s shall not be
increas ed over the number hired w hen the project or projects were
comm enced; and
2. The Ministr y of Social Services and Develo pmen t a nd any other office
in o ther ministr ies of the govern ment perform ing functio ns similar to
said minishy, excep t for salaries of personn el, and for such other
routine and normal expenses, and for such other expens es as the
Commi ssion may authori ze after due notice and hearing. Shou ld a
calamit y or disaste r occur, all releases normal ly or u sually coursed
through the said minishies and offices of other ministr ies shall be
turned over to, and admini stered and dis bursed by, the Philipp ine
Na tional Red Cross, subject to the supervi sion of the Commi ssion on
Audit or its represe ntative s, and no candid a te or his or her spouse or
membe r of hi s fam il y w ithin the second civi l degree of affinity or
consan guinity shall particip ate, directly or ind irectly, in the
distribu tion of any relief or o ther goods to the victims of the calamity
or disaster ; and
3. The Ministr y of Human Settlem ents and any other office in any other
ministr y of the govern me nt perform ing functio ns similar to said
ministr y, except for salari es of personn el and for such other necessa ry
admini sha tive or o ther expens es as the Comm ission may authori ze
after due notice and hearing.
w. Prohibi ti on against constru ction of public works, deli very of materia ls for
public works and issuanc e of beasur y warran ts and similar devices. -
During the period of forty-five days preceding a regular election and
thirty days before a special election , any person w ho a) underta kes the
constru ction of any public works, except for projects or works exempt ed
in the preced ing paragra ph; o r b) issues, uses or avails of heasury
warran ts or any device und ertakin g future deliver y of money, goods or
other things of va lue chargea ble against public fu nd s.
y. On voting:
1. Any person w ho votes more than once in the same election , or w ho,
not being a register ed voter, votes in an election .
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2. Any person who votes in s ubs tituti on for another w hether with or
without the la tter 1s knowledge and/ or consent.
4. Any person w ho ava ils himself of any means of scheme to d iscover the
con tents of the ballo t of a voter who is preparing or castin g his vote or
w ho has jus t voted.
5. Any vo ter w ho, in the course of voting, u ses a ballot o ther than the one
given by the board of election inspectors or has in his possession more
than one official ball ot.
6. Any person who places under arrest or detains a voter w ithout lawful
ca use, or molests him in s uch a manner as to o bshucl or prevent him
fro m going to lhe polling place to cast his vote or from returning hom e
after casting his vo te, or to compel him to revea l how he voted.
7. Any m ember of the board of electi on inspectors charged with the duty
of read in g the ballot during the counting of vo tes who deliberately
omits to read the vote duly written on the ballot, or misreads the vote
actually written thereon or reads the name of a ca ndidate where no
na me is written on the ballot.
8. Any m ember of the board of election inspectors charged with the duty
of tallying the votes in the tally boa rd or sheet, election re turns or o ther
prescribed form who deli bera tely fails to record a vote therein or
records erroneously the votes as read, or r ecords a vo te w here no such
vote has been read by the chairman.
10. Any person who, for the p urpose of disrupting or obshuc ling the
elec ti on process or causing confu sion among the voters, propagates
false a nd alarming reports or informa tion or transmits or circulates
false orders, directives or messages regarding any matter relating to
the printing of official ballots, the postponeme nt of th e elec tion, the
hansfer of polling place or the general condu ct of the election.
11. Any person who, w itho ut legal authority, d estroys, substitutes or takes
away from the possession of those having legal custody thereof, or
from the place w here they are lega lly deposited, any election form or
document o r ballot box w hich con tains official ballots or other
documents used in the elec ti on.
12. Any person having legal custody of the ballot box con taini ng the
official ballots used in the elec tion who opens or des troys sa id box or
removes or deshoys its contents without or aga ins t the order of the
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Commis sion or w ho, through his negligen ce, ena bles any person to
commit any of the aforeme ntioned acts, or takes away said ballot box
from his cus tody .
15. Any pe rson who reveals the conten ts of the ballot of an illiterate or
disabled voter w hom he assisted in pre paring a ballot.
16. Any person w ho, w ithout authority , hansfers the location of a polling
place.
17. Any person w ho, w ithou t authorit y, prints or causes the printing of
any ballot or election returns that appears as official ballots or election
returns o r w ho dishibutes o r ca uses the sam e to be distribu ted for use
in the election, w hether or not they are actuall y used.
18. Any person who, wi thout authority , keeps, uses or carries out or
causes to be kept, used or carried out, any officia l ballot or elec tion
returns or printed proof thereof, type-for m mould, elecho-t ype
printing plates and any o ther plate, numberi ng machines a nd o ther
printing paraphe rnalia being used in connecti on w ith the printing of
official ballots or election returns.
20. Any person w ho, throug h any act, means or device, v iola tes the
integrity of any official ballot or election re turns before or after they
are used in the election.
21. Any pe rson w ho rem oves, tears, defaces o r d es hoys any certified list
of candida tes posted inside the voting booths during the hours of
voting.
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23. Any person who deliberate ly blurs his fingerprin t in lhe voting record.
49
by means of fraud , threat intimidation, terrorism or coercion,
causes or compels the commission of said act.
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ll. Under R.A. 9189 "Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003", as amended
1. For a ny officer or employee of the Philippine government to influence or
attempt to influence any person covered by the Overseas Absentee Vo ting
Act of 2003 as am ended to vote, or no t to vote, fo r a particular candida te.
N o thing in this Act sh all be deem ed to prohibit free discussion regarding
politics or candida tes for public office;
3. For any person to s teaC conceal, alter, deshoy, mutil a te, m anipula te, or in
any way, tamper w ith the m ail containin g the ballo ts for overseas voters,
the ballot, the election returns, or any record, document or pap er required
for purposes of the Overseas Voting Act of 2003 as amended;
4. For any deputi zed agent to refu se w ithou t justifiable ground, to serve or
continue serv ing, or to comply w ith one's sworn d u ties after acceptance of
the depu ti za tio n;
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9. For any person who is not a citizen of the Philippines to pa rticipate, by
word or deed, direc tly or indirectly tllTo ug h qualified
organizations/ associations, in any manner and a t any s tage of the
Philippine political process abroad , including participa ti on in the
campaign and elections.
The provision of ex is ting laws to the conhary n o tw iths tanding, and w ith
due regard to the Principle of Double Criminality, the prohibited ac ts described
in this section are electoral o ffenses a nd shall be punishable in the Philippines.
IJI. ELECTORAL SABOT AGE: The act or offense committed in any of the
following instances shall fall under the category of electoral sabotage:
1. When the tampering, increase and / or decrease of votes perpelTa ted or the
refusal to credit the correc t vo tes or to deduct tampered votes, is/ are
committed in the election of a national elective office w hich is vo ted upon
nationwide and the tampering, increase and / or decrease votes, refusal to
credit the correct votes or to deduct ta mpered votes, s hall adversely affect
the results of the elec tion to the said na tional office to the extent tha t
losing candidate/s is/ are made to appear the w inne r/ s;
2. Regardl ess of the elective offi ce involved, when Lhe tampering, increase
and / or decrease of votes committed or the refusal to credit the correc t
v o tes or to dedu ct tampered vo tes perpe ha ted, is accom plished in a single
electi on document or in the tra ns position of the fi g ures/ results from one
election docume nt to another a nd involv ed in the said tampering increase
and / or d ecrease or refusal to credit correct votes or deduct tampered
votes exceed fi ve thousand (5,000) vo tes, and tha t the sa me ad versely
affects the hue r esults of th e election; and
Sec. 75. Penalties. - Any person found gu ilty of committing any of the
prohibited acts enumera ted in the immedia tely preceding Sectio ns, except those
enumerated in paragra phs lli of Secti o n 74, shall be punis hed w ith imprisonment
of not Jess than one (1) year but not more than six (6) yea rs a nd shall n ot be
subject to proba ti on. In addition, the gu ilty party sha ll be sentenced to s uffer
disqualifica tio n to hold public office and depri vation of the rig ht of suffrage.
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addition, the offender shall be sentenced to suffer perpetu al disqualific ation to
hold public office and depri va tion of his/ her right to vote.
ARTICLE XVIII
ROLE OF GOVERN MENT AGENCIE S
ARTICLE XIX
CONCLU DING PROVISI ONS
Sec. 78. Security measures to safeguard the secrecy and sanctity of the
ballots. - In the interest of trans parency, all necessary and practicable measures
shall be adopted to allow representa tion of the candidate s, accredited major
political parties, accredited citizens' arms and non-gover nment organizations to
assist, and observe in all stages of the electoral exercise to prevent any and all
forms of fraud and coercio n and ens ure free, ho nes t, orderly peaceful and
credible election .
Sec. 79. Applicabi lity of other election laws.- The pertinent provisions of
the Omnibus Election Code, as amended and other elec tion laws, which are not
in conflict w ith the provisions of the Overseas Voling Act of 2003, as am ended,
shall remain in full force, and shall have suppletory applicatio n of these Rul es.
Sec. 80. Enforcem ent and adm inistration by the Commiss ion. - The
Commissi on, for the purpose of ensuring honest, orderly, peaceful and free
elections abroad, sh all have exclusive charge of the e nforcemen t, ad minishation
and implemen ta ti on of the Overseas Vo ting Act of 2003 as amended.
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R 8 SO 10035
Sec. 81. Dissemination. - The Educa ti on and Inform a tio n Depa rtment
shall cau se the publica tio n of this Resolution in two (2) daily news papers of
general circul a tion in the Philippines and to furnish the Dep artment of Foreign
Affairs, Department of La bor and Employm ent, Department of Transporta ti on
and Communicati ons, Phili ppine Pos tal Corpora tion, Philippine Overseas
Employment Administra tion, Overseas Worker's Welfare Ad ministra tion,
Commission on O verseas Filipinos, the Foreign Serv ice Institute, the Social
Security System and o lher government agencies concerned with lhe welfa re of
Filipinos overseas.
Sec. 82. Effectivity. - These Gene ral Ins truc tions s hall take effect
im mediately afte r publica ti on in two (2) newspa pers of general circu la tion in the
Phili ppines.
SO ORDERED.
J. ANDRJES D. BAUTISTA
c lt.irperson
c ISTIANROB~ Commissioner
Commissioner
'"
l(d;~
Comm issioner A FFM. ABAS
miss ioner
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