CAMPAIGN

OEC

Sec. 80. Election campaign or partisan political activity outside campaign period. – It shall be unlawful for any
person, whether or not a voter or candidate, or for any party, or association of persons, to engage in an election
campaign or partisan political activity except during the campaign period: Provided, That political parties may hold
political conventions or meetings to nominate their official candidates within thirty days before the
commencement of the campaign period and forty-five days for Presidential and Vice-Presidential election.

RA 7166

Sec. 5. Election and Campaign Period. - Unless otherwise fixed by the Commission, the election period for the May
11, 1992 regular elections shall commence ninety (90) days before the day of the election and shall end thirty (30)
days thereafter.

The campaign periods are hereby fixed as follows:

a. For President, Vice-President and Senators, ninety (90) days before the day of the election; and

b. For Members of the House of Representatives and elective provincial, city and municipal officials, forty-five
(45) days before the day of the election.

However, in the preparation of the election calendar, the Commission may exclude the day before the day of the
election itself, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Any election campaign or partisan political activity for or against any candidate outside of the campaign period
herein provided is prohibited and shall be considered as an election offense punishable under
Section 263 and 264 of the Omnibus Election Code.

Sec. 6. Nomination and Selection of Official Candidates. - No political convention or meeting for the nomination
or selection of the official candidates of any political party or organization or political groups or coalition thereof
shall be held earlier than the following periods:

a. For President, Vice-President and Senators, one hundred sixty-five (165) days before the day of the election;
and

b. For Members of the House of Representatives and elective provincial, city or municipal officials, seventy-
five (75) days before the day of the election.

Sec. 7. Filing of Certificates of Candidacy. - The certificate of candidacy of any person running for the office of
President, Vice-President, Senator, Member of the House of Representatives or any elective provincial, city or
municipal official shall be filed in five (5) legible copies with the offices of the Commission specified hereunder not
later than the day before the date legally fixed for the beginning of his campaign period.

a. The certificate of candidacy for President, Vice-President and Senators shall be filed with the main office of
the Commission in Manila;

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 b. The certificate of candidacy for the Members of the House of Representatives shall be filed with the
provincial election supervisor of the province concerned. Those for legislative districts in the National
Capital Region shall be filed with the regional election director of said region and those for legislative
districts in cities outside the National Capital Region which comprise one or more legislative districts shall
be filed with the city election registrar concerned;

c. The certificate of candidacy for provincial offices shall be filed with the provincial supervisor concerned; and

d. The certificate of candidacy for city or municipal offices shall be filed with the city or municipal election
registrar concerned. Whenever practicable, the names of registered candidates for local positions shall be
printed in the election returns: Provided, That, if a candidate has been disqualified or declared a nuisance
candidate, it shall be the duty of the Commission to instruct without delay the appropriate election officials
to delete the name of said candidate as printed in the election return.

The certificate of candidacy shall be filed by the candidate personally or by his duly authorized representative. No
certificate of candidacy shall be filed or accepted by mail, telegram or facsimile.

RA 7166, sec 13

Section 13. Authorized Expenses of Candidates and Political Parties. - The agreement amount that a candidate or
registered political party may spend for election campaign shall be as follows:

(a) For candidates. - Ten pesos (P10.00) for President and Vice-President; and for other candidates Three
Pesos (P3.00) for every voter currently registered in the constituency where he filed his certificate of
candidacy: Provided, That a candidate without any political party and without support from any political
party may be allowed to spend Five Pesos (P5.00) for every such voter; and

(b) For political parties. - Five pesos (P5.00) for every voter currently registered in the constituency or
constituencies where it has official candidates.

Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding any contribution in cash or in kind to any candidate or
political party or coalition of parties for campaign purposes, duly reported to the Commission shall not be subject
to the payment of any gift tax.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 10590

AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9189, ENTITLED "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A SYSTEM OF OVERSEAS
ABSENTEE VOTING BY QUALIFIED CITIZENS OF THE PHILIPPINES ABROAD, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"

"SEC. 22. Regulation on Campaigning Abroad. - Personal campaigning, the use of campaign materials, as well as
the limits on campaign spending shall be governed by the laws and regulations applicable in the

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Philippines: Provided, That all forms of campaigning abroad within the thirty (30)-day overseas voting period shall
be prohibited."

There are two remedies available under existing laws to prevent a candidate from running in an electoral race. One
is by petition for disqualification, and the other by petition to deny due course to or to cancel his certificate of
candidacy. In Fermin v. Commission on Elections, the Court has differentiated the two remedies thuswise: [A]
petition for disqualification, on the one hand, can be premised on Section 12 or 68 of the OEC, or Section 40 of the
LGC. On the other hand, a petition to deny due course to or cancel a CoC can only be grounded on a statement of a
material representation in the said certificate that is false. The petitions also have different effects. While a person
who is disqualified under Section 68 is merely prohibited to continue as a candidate, the person whose certificate
is cancelled or denied due course under Section 78 is not treated as a candidate at all, as if he/she never filed a
CoC. (Agustin vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 207105, November 10, 2015, Justice Bersamin).

DISQUALIFICATION

OEC

Section 12 Disqualifications. – Any person who has been declared by competent authority insane or incompetent,
or has been sentenced by final judgment for subversion, insurrection, rebellion or for any offense for which he has
been sentenced to a penalty of more than eighteen months or for a crime involving moral turpitude, shall be
disqualified to be a candidate and to hold any office, unless he has been given plenary pardon or granted amnesty.
This disqualifications to be a candidate herein provided shall be deemed removed upon the declaration by
competent authority that said insanity or incompetence had been removed or after the expiration of a period of
five years from his service of sentence, unless within the same period he again becomes disqualified.
Sec. 68. Disqualifications. – Any candidate who, in an action or protest in which he is a party is declared by final
decision of a competent court guilty of, or found by the Commission of having
(a) given money or other material consideration to influence, induce or corrupt the voters or public officials
performing electoral functions;
(b) committed acts of terrorism to enhance his candidacy;
(c) spent in his election campaign an amount in excess of that allowed by this Code;
(d) solicited, received or made any contribution prohibited under Sections 89, 95, 96, 97 and 104; or
(e) violated any of Sections 80, 83, 85, 86 and 261, paragraphs d, e, k, v, and cc, subparagraph 6, shall be
disqualified from continuing as a candidate, or if he has been elected, from holding the office. Any person who is a
permanent resident of or an immigrant to a foreign country shall not be qualified to run for any elective office
under this Code, unless said person has waived his status as permanent resident or immigrant of a foreign country
in accordance with the residence requirement provided for in the election laws.

LGC of 1991

Section 40. Disqualifications. - The following persons are disqualified from running for any elective local position:

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 (a) Those sentenced by final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude or for an offense
punishable by one (1) year or more of imprisonment, within two (2) years after serving sentence;

(b) Those removed from office as a result of an administrative case;

(c) Those convicted by final judgment for violating the oath of allegiance to the Republic;

(d) Those with dual citizenship;

(e) Fugitives from justice in criminal or non-political cases here or abroad;

(f) Permanent residents in a foreign country or those who have acquired the right to reside abroad and
continue to avail of the same right after the effectivity of this Code; and

(g) The insane or feeble-minded.

AES, R.A 9369

SECTION 11. Functions of the Technical Evaluation Committee. - The Committee shall certify, through an
established international certification entity to be chosen by the Commission from the recommendations of the
Advisory Council, not later than three months before the date of the electoral exercise, categorically stating that
the AES, including its hardware and software components, is operating properly, securely, and accurately, in
accordance with the provisions of this Act based, among others, on the following documented results:

1. The successful conduct of a field testing process followed by a mock election event in one or more
cities/municipalities;

2. The successful completion of audit on the accuracy, functionality and security controls of the AES software;

3. The successful completion of a source code review;

4. A certification that the source code is kept in escrow with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas;

5. A certification that the source code reviewed is one and the same as that used by the equipment; and

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 6. The development, provisioning, and operationalization of a continuity plan to cover risks to the AES at all
points in the process such that a failure of elections, whether at voting, counting or consolidation, may be
avoided.

For purposes of the 2007 elections, the certification shall be done not later than eight weeks prior to the date of
the elections.

"If the Commission decides to proceed with the use of the AES without the Committee's certification, it must
submit its reason in writing, to the Oversight Committee, no less than thirty (30) days prior to the electoral
exercise where the AES will be used.

"The Committee may avail itself of the expertise and services of resource persons who are of known
independence, competence and probity, are non partisan, and who do not possess any of the disqualifications
applicable to a member of the Advisory Council as provided herein. The resource persons shall also be subject to
the same prohibitions and penalties as the members of the Advisory Council.

"The Committee shall closely coordinate with the steering committee of the Commission tasked with the
implementation of the AES in the identification and agreement of the project deliverables and timelines, and in the
formulation of the acceptance criteria for each deliverable."

SECTION 10. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8436 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 12. Procurement of Equipment and Materials. - To achieve the purpose of this Act, the Commission is
authorized to procure, in accordance with existing laws, by purchase, lease, rent or other forms of acquisition,
supplies, equipment, materials, software, facilities and other services, from local or foreign sources free from taxes
and import duties, subject to accounting and auditing rules and regulations. With respect to the May 10, 2010
elections and succeeding electoral exercises, the system procured must have demonstrated capability and been
successfully used in a prior electoral exercise here or abroad. Participation in the 2007 pilot exercise shall not be
conclusive of the system's fitness.

"In determining the amount of any bid from a technology, software or equipment supplier, the cost to the
government of its deployment and implementation shall be added to the bid price as integral thereto. The value of
any alternative use to which such technology, software or equipment can be put for public use shall not be
deducted from the original face value of the said bid."

SECTION 11. Section 9 of Republic Act No. 8436 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SECTION 13. Continuity Plan. - The AES shall be so designed to include a continuity plan in case of a systems
breakdown or any such eventuality which shall result in the delay, obstruction or nonperformance of the electoral
process. Activation of such continuity and contingency measures shall be undertaken in the presence of
representatives of political parties and citizens' arm of the Commission who shall be notified by the election officer
of such activation.

"All political parties and party-lists shall be furnished copies of said continuity plan at their official addresses as
submitted to the Commission. The list shall be published in at least two newspapers of national of circulation and
shall be posted at the website of the Commission at least fifteen (15) days prior to the electoral activity
concerned."

SECTION 12. Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8436 is hereby amended to read as follows:

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"SECTION 14. Examination and Testing of Equipment or Device of the AES and Opening of the Source Code for
Review. - The Commission shall allow the political parties and candidates or their representatives, citizens' arm or
their representatives to examine and test.

"The equipment or device to be used in the voting and counting on the day of the electoral exercise, before voting
starts. Test ballots and test forms shall be provided by the Commission.

"Immediately after the examination and testing of the equipment or device, the parties and candidates or their
representatives, citizens' arms or their representatives, may submit a written comment to the election officer who
shall immediately transmit it to the Commission for appropriate action.

"The election officer shall keep minutes of the testing, a copy of which shall be submitted to the Commission
together with the minutes of voting."

"Once an AES technology is selected for implementation, the Commission shall promptly make the source code of
that technology available and open to any interested political party or groups which may conduct their own review
thereof."

Election Service Reform Act, R.A No. 10756

SECTION 3. Rendering of Election Service. – The Electoral Boards to be constituted by the Commission
shall be composed of a Chairperson and two (2) members, all of whom shall be public school teachers
who are willing and available to render election service.

Should there be a lack of public school teachers willing, available or qualified to serve, the Commission
may instead appoint the following persons in this order of preference:

(a) Private school teachers;

(b) National government employees:

(1) DepED nonteaching personnel;

(2) Other national government officials and employees holding regular or permanent
positions, excluding uniformed personnel of the Department of National Defense and all
its attached agencies;

(c) Members of the Commission-accredited citizen arms or other civil society organizations and
nongovernmental organizations duly accredited by the Commission; and

(d) Any registered voter of the city or municipality of known integrity and competence who is not
connected with any candidate or political party.

In cases where the peace and order situation so requires as determined by the Commission and where
there are no qualified voters willing to serve, uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police shall
be deputized to render election service as a last resort.