~

. , r
'~ '

Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
Manila

GENERAL INSTRUCTION S FOR THE BAUTISTA,}. Andres D., Chnimrau

LIM, Christian RobertS., Commissio11er
SPECIAL BOARD OF ELECTION PARRENO, AI A., Commissioner
INSPECTORS AND SPECIAL BALLOT GUJA, Luie Tito F., Commissio11er
RECEPTION AND CUSTODY GROUP IN LIM, Arthur D., Commissio11er
GUANZON, Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Commissio11er
THE CONDUCT OF MANUAL VOTING ABAS, Sheriff M. Commissio11er
AND COUNTING OF VOTES UNDER
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9189, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS "THE OVERSEAS
ABSENTEE VOTING ACT OF 2003" AS
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10590
FOR PURPOSES OF THE MAY 09, 2016
. J anuery 13 2016
':;(tl/f2/.VJV_'L1
NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS. P romu Iga t JOn:, _ __ __ 9
x---------------------------------------------------------x

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

Section 1. M eaning of words. - As used in this Genera l Instructions, the

foll owing terms shall refe r to:

a. Approved Overseas Voter Registration Record - application for

regishation/ certifica ti on approved by 7the Resid ent Election Regisba tion
Board (RERB) or the computer generated d ocument w hich contains the
uemograp hic and biometric information of an overseas voter;
 b. Certified List of Ov erseas Voters (CLOV) - list of registere d
overseas voters whose applicati ons to vote have been approve d by the
RERB. Sa id list to be prepared by the O ffice for Oversea s Vo ting (OFOV)
of the Commis sion, on a co unh'y-by-country and p os t-by post basis;

c. Commis sioll - the Commission on Elec tions;

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;

f. Field Votiug - conduct of vo ting for a limited period of time

o utside the Pos t in p laces abroad where field registrations were conducted
or in s uch areas ove rseas as may be authoriz ed by the Commission;

g. List of O verseas Voters with Voting R ecords - certified list of

overseas vote rs co ntaining their names and biom ehics arranged
alphabe tica ll y, for use by the SBETs or SBRCGs during the voting peri od;

h. Natio11al R egistry of Oversea s Voters (NROV) - consolid a ted list

prepared , a pproved and main ta ined by the Commis sion . This list
contains the na mes of ove rseas voters, includin g those regis tered under
Re public Ac t No. 8189 w ho have applied to be certified as absentee voters,
have been approve d by the Res ident Election Registra ti on Board,
indicatin g the Post w here the overseas voter is registere d;

i.Office for O verseas Voting (OFOV) - offi ce of the Commis sion

tasked to oversee a nd s upervise the effec tive implem entation of the
Oversea s Voting Act of 2003 as amended ;

j. Oversea s Vot er - a citi zen of the Philippines who is qualified to

vote und er the Oversea s Votin g Act of 2003, as amende d, n ot otherwise
disq ualified by law, w ho is abroad on the day of the elec tions;

k. Oversea s Voting - process by w hich q ualified ci ti zens of the

Philippi nes abroad exercise their ri ght to vote;

I. Oversea s Voting Election Returns - a doc um ent showing the date

of elections , the country in which it is held, the number of overseas voters
qualified to vo te, the number of overseas vo ters w ho actually voted, and
the votes obtained by each ca ndida te in an overseas voting precinct;

m. Oversea s Vot ing Precinct - grou pings of overseas vo ters in a given

country or post designa ted fo r purpose s of voting and counting;

2
(})
I '

n. Person al Votiug - a mode of voti ng w here the voters

person ally appea r to cast their votes at the Posts or such other
voting a reas des igna ted by the Comm ission;

o. Posta l Voting - a mode of voting w here mailin g packets,

contai ning the officia l ballots and o ther electio n paraph ernalia , are
sent to the voters throug h the mail or are person ally delive red to or
picked -up by the voters at the Post or such o ther voting areas
design ated by the Comm ission. Where upon, the voters either mail
or person ally delive r their accom plished ballots to the Post;

p. Posts - Phi li ppine embass ies, consul a tes, foreign service

establi shmen ts and other Philip pine govern ment agenci es
mainta ining offices abroad , e.g., the Ph ilippin e Overs eas Labor
Offices (POLO), having jurisdi ction over the places where the
overse as voters reside. For purpos es of overse as voti ng, Posts shall
also mean to inclu de the Manila Econo mic & Cultural Offices
(MECOs) in Taiwa n;

g. R eprese 11tativ e of tile Co mmiss iou - officials a nd emplo yees

of the foreign serv ice corps, includ ing Filipin o contra ctual or
projec t term person nel that the embas sies, consul ates and o ther
foreign servic e establi shmen ts locally hired at the host cotmhy,
deputi zed by th e Comm ission pursua nt to the Overs eas Voting Act
of 2003 as amend ed;

r. Seafar ers - ship officers and ratings manni ng ships,

includ ing offsho re worke rs, service provid ers and fisherm en, as
define d in the Rev ised Ru les on the Issuan ce of Seafar er's
Identif ication and Record Book of the Mariti me lndush y Autho rity;

s. Specia l Ballot R eceptio n and Custod y Group (SBRC G) -

group deputized by the Comrn ission to receive and take custod y of
all accoun table and non-ac counta ble electio n forms, suppli es and
paraph ernalia sent by the OFOV for transm ittal to the voters , SBEJs
and Specia l Board s of Canva ssers (SBOC);

t. Specia l Board of Electio n I11spectots (SBEI) - body

deputi zed by the Comm ission to condu ct the voti ng and / or
coun tin g of vo tes;

u. Superv ismy Tea ms - officia ls and emplo yees of the

Comm ission design ated by the Comm ission to superv ise and
ensure the imp leme ntation of the Overs eas Voting Act of 2003 as
amend ed. Such superv isory teams shall be heade d by career
officers or any lawyer of the Comm ission design ated by the
Comm ission er-in-c harge of the OFOV;

3
 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).

Sec. 3. Qualifica tions of members/ substitute s of the SBRCG. - No

person shall be a ppointed as chairperso n or m ember of the SBRCG, unless such
person:

1. Ts of good m ora l character a nd irrep roachable reputation;

2. Ts a citi zen of the Philippine s res iding abroad;
3. fs from am o ng the staff of the Posts;
4. H as never bee n convicted of any election offense or of any othe r crime
punishabl e by more than six (6) months of imprisonm ent, or has no
pending case filed aga inst him for any election offense; and
5. Is able to spea k and write English or Fili pino.

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.

In case of tem porary vacancy in the SBRCG, the provision in Secti on 11 of

these rules shall appl y.

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.

Sec. 5. Notice of disqualifi cation. - Any m ember of the SBRCG wh o is

disqualifie d shall, w ithin fi ve (5) days from kn owledge of s uch disqualifica tion,
no ti fy the head of the Post in w ri ting, w ho shall, in turn submit a replacem ent to
the Commissi on thro ugh th e OFO V for appointm ent.
L

Sec. 6. Functi ons of the SBRC G. - Th e SBRCG shall pe rform

the
fo ll owing duties a nd fun cti on s:

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

e. Perfor m such o the r duties a nd f unctio ns as prov ided un der these

rules
and as manda ted by the Conlmission .

ARTIC LE III
SPECI AL BOAR DS OF ELEC TION INSPE CTOR S

Sec. 7. Specia l Board of Electio n Inspec tors; consti tution and

appoin tment. The Comm iss ion, throug h th e OFOV, shall, upon
recom menda ti on o f the DFA-OVS, cons titute in every Pos t, startin g Februa
ry 1,
2016 up to Febru ary 14, 2016, a t least one (1 ) SBEI, which sha ll be compo
sed of
three (3) memb ers, for pur poses of votin g a nd / o r counti ng

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 .

Sec. 8. Qualif ication s of memb ers of the SBEI. - No person s hall

be
appoin ted as chair person o r membe r of the SBEI, whe ther regu lar or subs
titute,
unless said person :

a. Is of good m o ral cha racter and irrep roacha ble r eputat ion;

5
,.

b. Has never been convi c ted of any electi on offens e o r of any

other crime
punis hable by more than s ix (6) m onths of impri sonm ent,
or has no
pendi ng case fil ed again st such perso n for any electi on offens e;
and

c. Is able to speak and write Englis h or Fili pino.

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 .

Sec. 9. Disqu alific ation. - No perso n shall serve as chairp

erson or
member of the SBET if such perso n or such perso n's spous e is
relate d w ithin the
fourth civil d egree of consa nguin ity or affinit y to any m ember
of the same SBEI
or to any o f the candi dates for Presid ent, Vice Pres ident and/ or
Senat or.

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.

Sec. 12. Oath of memb ers of th e SBEI/ SBRC G. - Th e memb

ers of the
SBET/SBRCG s hall, be fore ass uming the ir office, take an oa th
by accom plishi ng
the Oath of SBEI/ SBRC G (OVF N o.5-A) before an office
r au thoriz ed to
admin is ter oa ths. In the absen ce of such office r, the oa th m ay be
taken before any
other memb er of the SBEI/ SBRC G presen t or, in case no
oth er memb er is

6
 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

d . Perform such o ther functio ns as may hereina fter be prescrib ed by the

Commi ssio n.

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:

a. Firs t copy to the Commi ssion; and

b. Second copy to be deposit ed inside the ballot box.

Sec. 16. Prohib ition against politica l activity . - No me mber of the

SBEI/ SBRCG shall e ngage in any partisan political ac tivity or take part in the
election s except to vote and dischar ge their duties such as renderi ng assistan ce in
accorda nce with usu al protoco l cou rtesies normal ly extended to visiting officials
on official business.

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 .

7
 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.

However, if there is n o sufficient s pace for all wa tchers to be

accommo dated, pre ference s hall be given to the wa tchers of the dominant
majority and dominant m ino rity parties as d etermined by the Commissi on, one
(1) watch er for the accredited citi zens' arm, one (1) com mon wa tcher for
accredited OFW orga niza tions, and one (1) common wa tcher for the independe nt
candidates .

Sec. 20. Qualifica tions of wa tchers. - No person shall be appoin ted

watcher unl ess he:

a. Is a n overseas vo te r in the Post w here he is assigned;

b. Is of good m ora l cha racte r and reputation;

c. Has not been conv icted of any election offense or an y crime;

d . Knows how to write a nd read Eng lish or Filipino; and

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,

8
 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.

The watch ers sha ll have the right to:

a. Witne ss a nd in form themse lves of the procee dings of the SBET;

b. Take n o te of w hat th ey see o r hear;

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.

Wa tchers shall no t s peak to any member of the SBEJ, or to any voter, or

among thems elves, in suc h a m anner as would distur b the procee dings
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:

OVF DESC RIPT ION RATE OF

NO. DISTR IBUTI ON
ELECT ION FORM S (VOTI NG)

2 Certifi ed List of Overse as Vo lers 1 ISet

9
 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
..

16 Envelope fo r Torn Half of Unused Official Ballots, Other

3 Pieces
Half of Torn Unus ed Official Ballots and Officia l Ballots

18 En velop e for Mi nutes o f Votin g

1 Set of 2 pieces
30 Temp orary Appo intment of Cha irman /Poll Clerk / Third
3 Pieces
Mem ber of SBET/SBRCG

33 Certificate of Chall enge or Prote st and Decis ion of the

3 Pieces
Board

35 Ce rtifica te of Chall enge /Prote st of the Decision of

the 3 Pieces
Board

33-A Recor d of Chall enge/ Protes t

10 Pieces
39 Oa th of Voter Chall enged for Illega l Acts
10 Pieces
40 Oath of Identificatio n of Wit11ess of Chall enged Voter "10 Pieces
40-A Oa th of Iden tifica tion of Ch a llen ged Watch er 12 Pieces
-
40-B Oa th of an SBETMemb er Identi fying a Voter
10 Pieces
41 Summ ons Re: Identity of Ch allen ged Voter 3 Pieces
42 Secur i ty Seals fo r Ballot Box Sli ts 60 Pieces
43 Ballot Box Tape 8 Pieces

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

17, 17- Enve lopes for Election Rehu ns

1 Set of 8 pieces
A to-
G
-
18-A Envelo pe fo r l\1 inute s o f Coun ting of Votes
1 Set of 2 Pieces
27, 27- Official Rece ip l of Electi on Retur ns
1 Set of 5 Piece s
A to -
D

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

Sec. 23. Offic ial ballo t. - The offici al ballo t shall be

of uniform size and
color, printed o n secu rity pape r w ith distin ctive, clear
and legible w aterm arks
that will readi l y dis ting uish the ballo t pape r from ordin
ary pape r.

It shall conta in a stub and detachable ballo t coup

on, both of w hich shall
bear the same seria l n umb er of the ball o t, w ith space
for the thum b m ark of the
voter on the d etachabl e ball ot coup on .

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

II
 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.

12
 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:

a. Be accom panie d by an ybod y in accom plish ing the

ballo t, excep t in the
case of an illite ra te or perso n w ith disab ility;

b . Spea k with anyo ne whil e accom plis hing the ballo t;

c. Inten tiona ll y tea r, d eface, or e rase a ny print ing on

the ba ll ot or put
there on any dis tin gu ishing mark ;

d . Use carbo n pape r, paraf fin pape r, came ra, or other

m eans for maki ng a
copy o f the ball o t, or make use of any o ther m eans to ident
ify the vote;
e. Prepa re the ball o t w ithou t the use of a ball ot secre cy
fold er, or exhib it its
conte nts to any perso n; or

f. Bring the ba ll ot o utsid e th e d esign ated pollin g place

.

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:

a. No wa tcher e nte rs the desig na ted votin g area for the

voters a nd the area
desig na ted fo r the SBEI, or to ming le a nd talk w ith the vo
ters;
b. No vote r ex hibits Lhe conte nts of the ba ll o t to any perso
n;
c. No ba llo t is bro ug ht o uts ide the d esign ated pollin g place
;
d. No pe rson e n ters th e d es ig na ted votin g area in prem
ises of Lhe Pos ts
carry in g an y firear m or a ny dead ly weap on, excep t
Lh ose expre ssly
a utho rized by the Corn miss io n;

e. The voter s cas t the ir ball o ts in the order of the ir arriv

a l in the pollin g
place; and

f. There is n o crow ding of voter s and d isord erly

behav ior insid e the
d es igna ted po lli ng place .

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:

13
.
\

1. First copy to the Com miss ion; and

2. Seco nd copy to be depo sited insid e the ballo
t box.
Sec. 31. Prep arati on of ballo ts for vote rs who are
illite rate or with
disab ility. -
a. No vote r shall be all owed to vote as illite rate
or w ith disab i lity unless
such fa ct is so indica ted in the OVF No. 2-A or
s uch cond ition of
disab ility is appa ren t;

b. A voter who is il li te ra te o r phys icall y unab le to prep

are the ballo t may be
assis ted in the p repa ratio n of the ballo t by a relat ive
w ithi n the fourt h
civil degr ee of cons a ngu inity or affinity, or by any
perso n of the vote r's
conf iden ce w ho belon gs to the sam e hous ehold , or by
any m embe r of the
SBET;

c. No pe rson s hal l ass is t a n illiter ate or phys ically disab

led vo ter more than
three (3) time s exce pt for the mem bers of the SBEI;

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

e. The assis tor shall be bo und in writi ng and unde r oa

th to accompli sh the
ballo t s hi ctly in acco rdan ce w ith the insh uc tions of
the vote r and no t to
r evea l the cont ents o f the ball o t.

Sec. 32. Chal leng e of illeg al voter s. - Any vote r or watche r may
chall enge a vo ter for:

a. Not bein g a regis te red overseas voter ;

b. Usin g the nam e of anot her; or

c. Suffe ring fro m a n ex is ting d isqua lifica tion.

In such a case, the SBEI s hall sa tisfy itself as to w heth
er or not the grou nd
for the chall e nge is tru e by requ iring proo f of
regisha ti on, ident ity or
quali ficat ion .

Sec. 33. Chal le.n ge base d on certa in illeg al acts. -

Any vote r or wa tcher
may chall enge any vo ter on the gro und that:

a. The cha ll enge d perso n has received or expects to

receive mon ey or
any thing of valu e as cons id era tion for the vote,
has paid , offered or
prom ised to pay, has conlTibuted, offer ed or prom
ised to conh ibut e
mon ey or a ny thing of va lu e as cons idera tion for the vote
of another;
b. The chall enge d perso n has mad e or received a prom
ise to influ ence the
givin g or w ithho ldi ng of any such vote; or

c. The chall enge d perso n has mad e a be t or is inte

reste d d irectl y or
indirectl y in a bel, whic h depe nds upon the resul ts of
the election.

14
 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.

Sec. 34. Rec ord of cha11enges and oath s. -

T he Thir d Mem ber of the SBEJ
shal l record in OVF No. 11 all ch alle nges and
oa ths take n in conn ec tion the rewi th
and the d ecis ion of the SBE I in each case .

Sec 35. Proh ibiti on on prem atur e ann oun

cem ent of voti ng.- No m e mbe r
of the SBET sh a ll, befo re the te rmin atio n of
the voti ng, mak e any ann ouncem e nt
as to whe the r a certa in reg is tere d vote r has
a lrea dy vo ted or no t, as to how man y
h ave a lrea dy vote d o r how man y so far
hav e fail ed to vote, o r an y oth e r fac t
tend ing to show or s how ing th e s tate of the
poll s, nor s hall mak e any s tate men t
at any time, exce p t as w itne ss befo re a cour
t or bod y as to h ow any pers on vote d.

Sec. 36. Dut i es o f th e SBR CG. -

a. Befo re the star t of the v otin g peri od:
1. D ivid e the CLO V and OVF No. 2-A
equi tabl y a m on g the SBEJs and
issu e the sa me to each SBEI;

2. Allo cate to eac h SBEI lhe offic ial ballo

ts and o ther form s and sup plies
base J o n the rate of di s tr ibut i on ind ica ted
in the Cert ifica te o f Rece ipt
of Form s an d Sup pli es for Voti ng by the
SBE I (OV F No. 14) and
acco m p lis h the bla nk colu mns ther eo f;

3. Ass ign a co rres pon din g id entif icati on num

ber for each SBE J, if ther e
a re mor e tha n o ne (1) SBE T in the Post;

4. Plac e ins ide the Ball ot Rece p tacle to be

ass igne d to the SBET the form s
and s upp li es lis ted in OV f No. 14; and

5. Issu e the Ball ot Rece p tacle and assign

accompl ishe d OVF No. 14 to the
SBE I.

b. Befo re the s tart of eac h voti ng day:

1. Issu e to Lhe S I3ET its Ball ot Rec ep tacle and

an unas sem bl ed ballo t box,
if need ed; and

2. Req uire Lhe S13E [ to ackn owledge rece

ipt of the Ball o t Receptac le a nd
the ba ll o t box us ing a logb ook mai ntai ned
fo r Lhe purp ose.

Sec. 37. Dut i es of lh e SBET. -

a. Befo re th e s tart of Lh e voti ng peri od:

15
..

1. Obta in frum th e SBRCG the Ball ot Rece ptac

le and acco mpli shed OVF
No. 14;

2. Rem ove a ll the conten ts of the Ballo t Rece

ptac le to asce rtain if the
actu al quan lity of ballo ts rece ived is equa l to
the num ber of vote rs
assig ned to it base d o n the CLOV;

2.1 If m ore than the num ber of vo ters, retu rn

the exce ss ballo ts to
lh e SBRCG;

2.2 If less, obta in from the SBRCG addi tiona l

ballo ts;
3. Exam ine lh e quan tity a.n d seria l num bers
of official ballo ts and othe r
acco unta bl e form s and supp lies to dete rmin e if
they are the sam e as
thos e reco rd ed in the acco mpli shed OVF No. 14;

3.1 If Lhe sam e, s ign the Ack now ledg men t Rece
ipt on OVF
No.14;

3.2 If not, refer the matt er to the SBRCG who

shal l repm t to the
OFO V;

4. Acco mpli sh OVF No.1 L;

5. Retu rn all form s and supp lies issue d insid e

the Ball ot Rece ptacl e;

6. Seal the lid / fla p of the Ballo t Rece plac le

with a mas k ing tape and
affix the ir s ig natu res there on;

7. Deli ver the seale d Ballo t Rece ptac le to the SBR

CG for safe keep ing;

8. Sub mit one copy of OVF No. 14 to the SBR CG

a nd re tain the othe r for
filin g;

9. Requ ire the SBRCG to ackn owle dge rece ipt

of the Ball ot Rece ptac le by
acco mpli shin g the logb ook main taine d for the purp
ose;

10. Posi tion the CLO V in a cons picu ous plac e

with in the prem ises of the
polli ng plac e; and

11. Prov ide Ballot Secrecy Fold ers/V otin g Boo

th insid e the voti ng area .

b. Befo re the s tart of eaclz voti ng day ill the pres

ence of the SBR CG.
1. Indi ca te in OVF No. 11 the serial num ber
of the ballo t box issue d by
the SBRCG;

16

.aJ
 2. Brea k th e seal o f the Ball ot Rece ptacl e;

3. Op e n the Ballo t Rece ptacle;

4. Re hiev e, d e te rmin e a nd segre ga te the num ber

o f pads of ball ots, and
o the r fo rms a nd supp lies to be used for the d ay.
The pad s of ballo ts
shall be place d in the Envelo pe for Offic ial Ba llo
ts, C ounted Official
Ballo ts, Exce ss Ballo ts, Spoiled Ballo ts, Torn H alf
of Unu sed Ballo ts,
O the r Half of Unu sed Ba llots and fnv alid Ballo ts
(OVF N o. 16) and
seale d w ilh a pape r seal. The reafter, re turn the
rem a ining ballo ts,
form s a nd s uppl ies ins id e the Ballo t Rece ptacl e;

5. Sea l the lid / flap o f the Ball ot Rece ptacl e again

w ith a mas king tape
and a ffi x signa tures th ereo n;

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

8. Proc eed to the p ollin g pl ace.

c. Befor e the s tart of votin g prop er

1. Reco rd th e nam es of Lhe w atche rs present, d a te a

nd time of arriv al,
and the p arty or cand idate they re prese nt on OVF
N o. 11 and requ ire
them to affix their signa tures there on;

2. Sh ow to the publ ic an d w atch ers of polit ical parti

es and cand idates,
tha t the seal o f the enve lop e con ta ining the offic ial ballo
ts is intac t;
3. Assem ble the ballo t box;

4. Exhi bit the ballo t box to sh ow that it is emp ty;

5. Affi x Lh e OVF No. 43 o n a ll sid e o pe nin gs of the ba

llo t box in such a
way tha t no ball o t m ay be removed from or place
d insid e the ba!J o t
box w itho ut brea king the seal. The ballo t box sha ll
rema in seale d until
the s tart of coun ting;

6. Indica te on the ballo t box the SBEI num be r assig ned

b y the S BRCG ;
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.

Sec. 38. M a nner of obta ining ballo ts. -

1. The vo ter a ppro ache s the Po ll Clerk , g ives name
and addr ess toget her
with o the r perso nal data .

17
 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 .

In the abse nce of an y iden tific atio n docu

men ts, any mem ber of the
SBE T m ay identify the vote r by acco mpl ishi
ng the Oa th of an SBET
Mem ber Id enti fyin g a Vo ter (OVF No. 40).
Such fact shal l be ente red in
Part V o f the OVF No.11 and the acco mpli
sh ed OVF No. 40-B shal l be
atta ch ed ther e to.

If the vote r's id enti ty s till ca nno t be asce rtain

ed by a ny of the fore goin g
mea ns, the pers on s ha ll not be allo wed to
vote and w ill be aske d to
leav e the poll ing plac e.

b. If the iden tity of th e vote r has been

asce rtain ed or h as not been
chall enge d or hav ing b een chall enge d the ques
tion has been deci ded in
favo r of the vote r, the C ha irpe rson sha ll issu
e the o fficia l ballo t to the
voter.

c. Ente r in the OVF No. 2-A, opp osite the

nam e of the vote r, the seria l
num ber of the ba ll o t as an no unce d by the C
ha irperson .
3. Befo re issu ing the official ba ll ot, the Ch a
irpe rson sh a ll:
a. Rea d the seria l num ber o f the ballo t;

b. Aut hent ica te the ball o t by sign ing

a t the back o f the ball ot;
Fail ure to auth enti cate the b allo t shal l not
inva lida te the ball ot but
the Cha irpe rson shal l b e liab le for an eJec
tion offe nse;
c. Req uire the vote r to sign and affix thum
bma rk on OVF No. 2-A;

d. Deta ch Lhe ba llo t cou pon and depo sit it

in lhe ba ll ot box com part men t
for spo il ed ballo ts; and

e. Fold the ball ot in such a man ner that on

ly the port ion whe re the seria l
num ber of the ball ot appe ars, and give
the ballo t to the voter.
Only Lhe C hair pe rson sha ll iss ue the offic ia
l ball ots, and n ot mor e than
one (1) ba ll ot s ha ll be iss ued at one time.

Sec. 39. Man ner of voti ng. -Vo ting shall

be cond u cted in the follo wing
man ner:

1. The vote r s ha ll , usin g a bal lot secr ecy

fold er, fi ll the ba llot by wri ting the
nam es of Lhe can d idat es a nd the nam e, acro nym
or raffl e num ber of the
part y lis t of ch oice;

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 ;

3. The vote r de posi ts the ballo t insid e the ballo

t box com part men t for valid
ballo ts;

4. The vote r then leav es.

If duri ng the votin g, the cont ents of the ballo t box

reac h three hun dred
fifty (350) bal lo ts, the SBEI s hall :

a. Seal lhe ballo t box slits usin g the secu ri ty seal

(OVF No. 42);
b. Indi ca te on top of lhe ba ll ot box the num ber
of ballo ts cont aine d
insid e;

c. Sub mit the ballo t box to the SBRCG;

d . Requ est addi tion al ba llo t box from the SBR CG;
and
e. Acco mp lish OVF No. 11.

Sec. 40. Spo iled ballo ts. - A ballo t shall be cons

ider ed spoi led m the
follo wing insta nces:

1. The seria l num ber of th e ba ll o t coup on is

not the sam e as prev ious ly
issue d to the vo ter; or

2. The ba ll ot coup on has been de tach ed not in

the pres ence of any mem ber
of SBET; or

3. The ballo t is acc iden tally defa ced by the vote

r such that it can no long er be
possibly used .

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;

2. Affix sign atur e belo w the word "SPO ILED ";

3. Dep os it the spoi led ballo t insid e the bal1ot

box com part men t for spoil ed
ballo ts;

4. Indi ca te the ' 'vord "SPO ILED " in the OVF No.
2-A oppo s ite the nam e of
the vote r;

5. Reco rd the se rial num ber of spoi led ballo t in

OVF No.1 1;an d
6. Issu e anot her a uthe ntica ted ball ot to the vote
r only whe n the ballo t was
acci dentall y defa ced by Lh e vo ter, after anno unci
ng the seria l num ber of
the second ballo t and reco rdin g the sam e in any
port ion with in the spac e
prov ided for the vote r's nam e and ballo t serial
num ber in OVF No. 2-A.

19
 How ever, in no case sh all the rep lacem ent of the ball
o t be mad e more than
once .

Sec. 42.Po s t votin g proc edur es. - A. At the end of

ever y votin g day,
I. T he SBE I s hall:

1. Sea l the ball o t box slits using OVF No. 42;

2. Acco mpli sh OV F No. 1J;

3. Pla ce the unus ed ballo ts ins id e the en velo p e for offic

ial ballo ts;
4. Secu re fro m the SBRC G the Ballo t Rece ptacl e assig
ned to it;

5. Re mov e the seal of the Ball o t Rece p tacle a nd d ep osit

ins ide the
sa id Rece p tacl e the OVF No. 11, the enve lope con
ta ining the
unus ed ba llo ts a nd othe r form s and supp lies;

6. Seed the li d/ flap of the Ball o t Rece p tacle again w

ith a mask ing
tape a nd affix the ir s ig na tures there on ;

7. Su L> mi t to the SBRC G for safek eepin g, the Ball

o t Rece ptacl e,
sea led ba ll ot box conta ining the acco mpli sh ed
and spoil ed
ba llo ts, if any, a nd OVF No. 2- A; and

8. Requ ire the SI3 RCG to ackn owle dge r eceip t o

f the Ballo t
Rece ptacl e u s in g the logb ook m ain taine d for the purp
ose.

II. T h e SB RCG s ha ll:

1. Ens ure tha t the ba ll o t box slits a nd the Ballo

t Rece ptacl e are
prop erly sea led; a nd

2. Kec1J Lhe Ba ll o l Rece ptacl e an d the ballo t box con

tai ning the
acco mpli s hed b a ll o ts in a secu red pl ace for issua
nce the next
d ay .

B. Afte r votin g on the las t day of the votin g perio

d, the SBEI Chai rpers on
sha11:

1 . Seal th e bed lo t box s lits us ing OVF No. 42;

2. Indic ate n n top o f the ball o t box the num ber

of ballo ts conta ined
the re i11;

3. Obta in frorn the SBRCG the Ballo t Rece ptacl e;

4. Re tr ieve fro m the Ba ll o t Receptacl e all rema ining

unus ed ba llo ts
a nd ClCCo mp lish ovr No. 11;

20
,

5. Tear the unused ballo ts in half lengthwise in the presence of the

other m embers of SBEI and wa tchers, if any, and accomplish OVF
No. 11;

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

Sec. 43. Postal voting. - A mode of vo ting w here mailing packets,

containing the ofEicial ballots and o ther election paraphernalia, ar e se nt directly
to the voters or directly to the post from COMELEC.

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);

2. Certified List of Candida tes;

3. Instructions to Voters;

4. Official Ballot Envelo pe (OVF No. 45); and

5. Paper Seals (OVF No. 12).

21
 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;

3. OVF No. 2-A; and

4. Scanned copy of the application form where voter's signature appears, in

the absence of the signature of said voter in OVF No. 2-A.

Sec. 46. Procedures for sending mailing packets to the voters by the
Post.- Upon receipt of the mailing packets, the SBRCG shall:

1. Make an in ventory of all the mailing packets;

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;

3. Post in conspicuous places in the embassy I consulate and in the website of

the Post, the nam es of vote rs, w ith instructi ons as to when, w here and
how they can cla im their ballo ts; and

4. Inform the voters that their ballots are ava ilable for pick-up, or mail the
ballots directly to the voters.

Sec 47. Procedures for postal voting.- The vo ters shall:

1. Accomplish personall y the ball o t by writing the names of the ca ndidates

and the name or acronym or raffle number of the party-list group
participating in the party-list system of represen tati on, of their choice;

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;

22
 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.

7. Re turn the sealed Ballo t Envelope personally or by mail to the Post on or

before the day of elec ti on. Tf m ail ed or d eliver ed per sonally, it s hould be
received by the Post on or before the end of vo ting hours on the day of
election .

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 :

a . If the Ballo t Envelope is received a t any time before election day,

proceed to the verification procedures.

b. If the Envelo pe is received on elec tion day but:

1. Before th e close of voting h ours, proceed to the verification

process; or

ii. After the close of vo ting hours, place the Ball o t Envelope inside
the receptacle for " Invalid Ballots".

B. Verification procedures shall be done upon receipt of the BalJot

Envelopes
1. Ballot Envelop es
Verify if the Ball o t Envelope is the official envelope p rovided by
the OFOV. If n ot, place it in the receptacle for " Inva lid Ball ots". ]fit
is the official envelop e, verify the signa ture appearing thereon .
2. Signa ture
Compare the signa ture of the vo ter on the ballo t envelope w ith that
appearin g on the OVF No. 2-A or on sca nned applica tion form.

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";

b. If the signa ture is identical, open the Ballo t Envelope to

determine whe ther it contains the ball o t cou pon and the
official ball ot.

23
 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" .

b. If the ballot coupon is not inside the Ballot Envelope, write

"ballot coupon is not ins ide the ballot envelope", and place it
inside the receptacle for "Questionable Ballots".

c. 1f there is no ballot coupon, write "no ballot coupon" on

ballot envelope and place it inside the receptacle for "Invalid
Ballots" .

4. Close and seal each receptacle at the end of each voting day;

5. On a daily basis during the entire voting period, keep a daily

record of the number of Ballot Envelopes received, verified and
deposited in each receptacle;

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;

7. After the close of voting hours on elec tion day,

a . Place a line across the boxes intended for the date and time
of receipt of Ballot Envelopes in OVF No. 2-A;

b. Affix their signatures at the bottom of each page of the OVF

No. 2-A;

c. Request watchers, if ava ilable, to affix their signatures

thereon.

Sec. 49. Invalid ballots. - The following constitute invalid ballots and
shall not be included in the counting:

1. Those not contained in the Ballot Envelopes provided by the Commission ;

2. Those contained in the Ballot Envelopes but received after the close of
voting hours on election day;

24
 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.

Sec. 50. Questionable ballots. - The following constitute questionable

ballots and shall be subject to veri fication before counting:

1. If the signature in the Ballo t Envelope is n ot identical; or

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 .

Sec. 52.Procedures for returned mailing packets.- The SBRCG shall :

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.

2. Post in conspicuous places in the embassy/ consulate and in the we bsite of

the Post the Jist w ith the inshuctions as to when, where and how the
vo ters can cla im their re turned mailed ballots.

3. Exert efforts to communica te with/ loca te the voters concerned and if

possible, forward the returned mailed ballots to them.

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

Sec. 53. Voting by seafarers. - A m ode of voting by w hich ship officers

and ratings m anning ships, including offshore workers, service providers and

25
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;

2. fn Posts adoptin g personal voting, seafarers voti ng shall be condu cted by

one of the SBEis handling the voting for land-based vo ters. For this
purpose, said SBEI shall manage two (2) OVF No. 2-A, one (1) for land-
based voters and the other one (1) for seafarers;

3. In Posts adopting postal voting, ballots for seafarers shall be distributed

proportiona tely among Posts w ith identified internationa l seaports. These
ballo ts shall be in the custody of the SBRCG of the Post for the entire
voting period. The seafarer shall:

a. Personally claim the mailing packe t at the Post;

b. Accomplish the official ballot contai ned in a mailing packet; and

c. Submit the accomplishe d ballot to the SBRCG which shall then

dispose the ballot in accordance with the procedures on postal
voting.

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

b. E-mail the list to OFOV on Lhe same day.

6. The OFOV shall, on a dai ly basis:

a. Update its fil e on seafarers wh o already voted; and

b. E-mail the updates to all Posts.

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;

c. It w ill impact upon a significa nt number of registe red overseas vo ters;

d. Inform a tion on the different schedul es of field voting shall be widely

dissemin ated by the Post;

e. Voting a t the premise s of the embassy / consul ate w ill have to be

continui ng, n o twiths tanding the field voting that the Pos t may schedule;

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.

Sec. 59. Determination of number of SBEis to conduct the counting of

votes. - Based on the to tal number of voters w ho actu ally voted, the H eads of
Pos ts or their d uly authorized representatives shall determine the number of
SBEls w hich will cond uct the counting of votes at the rate of, as far as prac ticable,
one (1) SBEI for every three hundred (350) ballots.

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.

2. Alloca te, in accordance with the rate of distribution as indicated in OVF

No. 14-A, the accountable forms and supplies to be used in counting.

3. Record in OVF No. 14-A the quantity and serial numbers of accountable
form s and supplies to be issued to the SBEJ.

4. Issue to the SBET :

a. The ballo t box/ es containing the accomplished ballo ts; and,
b. All forms and supplies indica ted in OVF No. 14-A.

The SBEI shall:

1. Verify the quantity and serial numbers of accountable forms received

from the SBRCG and if correct, sign OVF No. 14-A, otherwise inform the
SBRCG of the discrepancy;

2. Record in OVF No.11-A the physical condition of the ballot box;

3. Proceed to the counting area and open the ballot box;

4. Take o ut from the ballot box the accomplished ball o ts;

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.

Sec. 64. For postal voting. -

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.

3. Assign precinct number to each SBET.

4. Ope n the receptacle s for "Valid Ballo ts" and "Question abl e Ballots" to
rehieve the ballo t envelopes .

5. Allocate the ballo t envelopes containing "Vali d Ballots" and

"Ques tionable Ballots" equitabl y among the SBEis.

6. Place the ball ot envelopes in separate ballo t boxes, one for " Valid
Ballo ts" and another for "Question able Ballo ts".

7. Indicate on each ballo t box, the numbe r of ballo ts it conta ins.

8. Issu e to the SBEI:

a. Baiiot boxes containing "Valid Ball ots" and "Questio nable Ball ot
Envelopes";
b. OVF N o.2-A; and,
c. All forms and s upplies indica ted in OVF No. 14-A.

B. The SBEI, upon receipt of the ballot boxes, shall:

1. Proceed to the room where co unting w ill be conducted ;

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.

If the number of envelopes exceeds the to tal number indica ted

outside of the ballot box, return all the envelopes contain ing the ballots
into the ballo t box and thoroughl y mix them . The Poll Clerk, wi thout
looking inside the ball ot box, shall publicl y draw o ut as many
envelopes equal to the excess, place them in the Env elope for Excess
Ballo ts, and no te the number of excess enve lopes and the ac tion taken
in the OVF No.11-A .

If the number of envelop es is less than the total number

indica ted o utside the ballot box, record the number of lacking
envelopes in the OVF No.11 -A.

30
5. Proceed to th e Verific ation Process for Q uestion able Ballots;

A. Verific ation of the signatu re of the voter:

Determ ine whethe r the signatu re on the ballot envelop e is in fac t no t

identic al w ith the signatu re on OVF No. 2-A or scanne d copy of the
Applica tion Form of the concern ed voter, as the case m ay be. If the
signatu re is found to be not identica l, the word "Invali d" sha ll be
indica ted on the fa ce of the ballo t envelop e. Place the ba llo t envelop e
marked " Invalid " inside OVF No. 16.

Howev er, if the signatu re is identica l, verify the ballo t coupon .

B. Verific ation of the ballot coupon :

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.

If the ballot co upon is n ot attache d to the ballot, write the word

"spoile d" diagon a lly across the face of the ballot. Re turn the ball o t in
its envel ope and p lace it inside OVF N o. 16.

Spoiled ballo ts w ill not be co unted .

C. Verific ation of serial numbe r:

1. 1f the serial numbe r of the ballot coupon is the same as that

indicat ed in OVF No. 2-A, the ballot shall be include d in the pile of
valid ballots.

Where the serial numbe r of the ba ll o t coupon attache d to the

ballot is differe nt from the assigne d serial number as indica ted in OVF
No. 2-A write the word "INV ALTD" diagona lly across the face of the
ballo t and re turns the same inside the Envelo pe w hich shall in turn be
placed inside OVF No. 16.

OVF No. 16 shall be sealed and signed by the membe rs of the

SBET, for s ubmiss ion to the SBRCG after the cou nting.

2. After the verifi ca tion process, open the ball ot box contain ing the
valid ball o ts inside the envelop es;

3. Retriev e the ballo t envelop es from the ballot box;

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

7. Proceed with the coun ting of ba ll ots.

ARTIC LE XIII
PROCE DURE FOR COUN TING

Sec. 65. Manne r of counti ng.- The SBETshall:

1. Clear the tables to be used for countin g of all unnece ssa ry writing
paraph ernalia;

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.

Every fifth vote shall be recorde d by a diagona l line crossin g the

previou s four vertical lines.

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.

7. After ail Lhe bailo ts have been co unted:

a. Th e members sh a ll affix their initials, and imprint the ir thumbmark
on the election returns. The thumb marks sh all be imprinted only
on the first copy of the elec tion returns;
b. Add all the sub-to ta ls; and
c. Record, in words and in ngures, the total number of vo tes obta ined
by each candidate and by each party, orga ni za tion or coa lition,
participating und er the pa rty-lis t system, bo th in the election
re turns and the tally boa rd .
8. The members shall accom plish the certifica tion porti on of the e lecti on
returns and tally board;

9. The wa tchers, if any, sh a ll affix their signatures on ev ery page of the

election re turns and Lhe imprint of their right thumbmarks on the first
copy o f the election re turns;

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.

33
 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:

a. N am e of country/ ies w here the embassy, consulate or foreign

service es tablishme nt have cons ular jurisdictio n; and

b. To tal number of:

i. Ball o ts r ecei ved;
ii. Ballots found in the ballot box; and
iii. Spoiled ballots.

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.

Sec. 68. Transmis sion of results. - Immediately upon th e completi on of

the counting, the SBETs sh all hansmit the results to the SBOC.

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.

"Where the nam e of a party-list pa rtici pa nt is incompl etely written or not

in the pr oper o rder as appearing in the certif ied list of parties, the vo te for
s uch party, if identifi able, is valid if there is n o o ther party using the sa me.

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.

c. In case the candidate is a woman w ho uses her maiden or marri ed

surname or both and there is another candidate with the same surname, a
ballot bearing only such surname shall be counted in favor of the
candidate who is an 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 or more words are written on different lines on the

ballot all of w hich are the surnames of two or more cand ida tes bearing the
same surname for an office for w hich the law authorizes the e lec tion of
more than one and there are the same number of such surnames written
as there are candidates with that surname, the votes shall be counted in
favor of all the candidates bearing the surname.

e. When on the ballot is written a s ingle word which is th e first name of a

candidate and which is at the same time the surname of his/her opponent,
the vote 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.

A name incorrectly written which, when read, has a sound similar

to the name of a party-list participant, w hen correctly written sha11 be
counted in its favor.

h . When a name of a candidate appears in a space of the ballot for an office

for which h e is a candidate and in another space for which he is not a
ca ndidate, it shall be counted in his/ her favor for the office for which he is
a candidate and the vote for the office for which he is n o t a candidate shall
be consid ered as shay, except when it is use d as a means to identify the
voter, in which case, the whole ballo t shall be void.

When the name of a party appears in a space of the ballot for an

office other than for the party list, it shall be considered shay but it shall

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.

If the word or words w ritten on the a ppropriate blank on the ballot

is the identical name or s urname or full name, as the case may be, of two
or more candidate s for the same office no ne of whom is an incumben t, the
vote s hall be counted in favor of tha t candidate to w hose ticket belong all
the other ca ndid a tes vo ted foT in the same ball o t for lh e sam e
constituen cy.

i. When in a space in the ball o t there appears a name of a ca ndidate or party

that is erased and another clearly written, the vote is va lid for the latter.

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.

n . Any vo te containing initials only or w hich is illegible or wh ich does not

sufficientl y identify the ca ndid a te for w h om it is inte nded s hall be
considere d as a stray vo te but shall not inva lidate the w hole ball ot.\

The initials of a party- list participa nt shall be considere d va lid, provided,

that they are the same initials as appea ring in the certifi ed Jis t of pa rty-list
partie i pants.

o. If on the ball o t is correctly written the firs t name of a candi da te but wi th a

different surnam e, or the surname of the ca ndidate is correctly w ritten but
w ith a different firs t nam e, the vote shall no t be counted in favor of any
candid a te hav ing such firs t name and/ or surnam e but the ballo t s hall be
considere d valid for o ther candid a tes.

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 .

s. Any vote in favor of a person w ho has not fil ed a certifica te of candida cy

or in favor of a candid ate for an offi ce for w hich he d id no t presen t
himself shall be conside red as a stray vote but it shall n o t invalid ate the
w hole ballo t.

A vote cast for a party-li st particip ant no t entitl ed to be voted for

shall no t be counte d .

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.

x. Any vote cast in favor of a candida te or par ty w ho has been disqualified

by final judgme nt sh all be conside red as stray and shall no t be counted
but it shall no t invalid ate the ballo t.

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.

2. Seal the ballot box; and

3. Deposit to the SBRCG the sealed ballot box together with the
envelop es containi ng Minutes of Voting and Minutes of Co unting.

B. The SBRCG sha11:

1. Keep in a secured place the ballot boxes toge ther w ith envelope s
contain ing Minutes of Voting and Minutes of Countin g (Copies fo r the
Commis sion) until further instructi ons from the Commission.

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.

Security marking s shall be used in the printing of the official ballots a nd

the quantity to be printed shall be based on the total number of registere d
overseas voter.

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

Sec. 74. Election offenses/ prohibite d acts. -

I. Under Sec. 261of B.P. 881

a. Vote-buyi ng and vote-sellin g. -
1. Any person who gives, offers or promises money or any thing of value,
gives or promises any office or employme nt, franchise or grant, public
or private, or makes or offers to make an expenditu re, directly or
indirec tly, o r ca use a n expenditu re to be made to any person,
associatio n, corporatio n, entily, or communi ty in order to induce
anyone or the public in general to vote for or aga inst any candida te or
withhold his vote in the election, or to vote for or aga ins t a ny aspi rant
for the nomina ti on or choice of a candidate in a conventio n or similar
selection process of a poli tical pa rty.

2. Any person, associatio n, corporatio n, grou p or communi ty w ho so licits

or receives, directly or indireclly, any expend iture or promise of any
office or empl oym ent, public or private, for a ny of the foregoing
considera ti o ns.

b. Conspirac y to bribe voters. -Two or more persons, w hether candidate s or

no t, w ho come to an agreemen t concernin g the commiss ion of any
viola ti on of paragraph (a) of this section a nd decide to commit it.

c. Wagering upon resu lt of election. - Any person w ho bets or wagers upon

the outcome of, or a ny contingen cy c01m ec ted w ith an election. Any
money o r thing of valu e or deposit of m oney or thing of valu e situa ted
anywhere in the P hilip pines put as such bet or wager sha11 be forfeited to
the governme nt.

d. Coercion of subordina tes.-

1. Any public officer, or any officer of any public or private corporation
or associali on, o r any head, superior, or adminishator of any religious
or gani za tion, or any emp loyer or land-own er w ho coerces or
intimida tes or compels, or in any m anner influence, directly or
indirectly, any of his subordina tes or members or parishione rs or
emp loyees or hou se helpers, tenants, overseers, farm helpers, tiJJe rs, or
lease ho ld ers to aid, campaign or vote fo r or aga inst any candidate or
a ny aspiran t for the n om ination or selection of candid a tes.
2. Any public officer or any officer of any commercia l, indushial,
agricultur al, economic or social e nterprise o r p ubli c or private
corpora ti on or associa tion, or any head, s u perior or adminish a tor of
any reli gious organizati on, or a ny employer or landowne r w ho
dismisses or threa tens to dismiss, punishes or threa tens to p unis h by

-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.

g. Appoinhn ent of new employees, creation of new position, promotion , or

giving salary increases. - During the period of forty-five days before a
regular electi on and thirty days before a special elec ti on,
J . Any head, official or appointin g officer of a governme nt office, agency
or inshumen tality, whether national or local, includin g governme nt-
owned o r controlled co rpora tions, w ho appoints or hires any new
empl oyee, w hether provisiona l, temporary or casual, or creates and
fills any new position, except upon prior authority of the Commission.
The Commission shall no t grant the authority sought unless, it is
satisfied tha t the position to be fill ed is essential to the proper
function ing of the office or agency concerned , and that the position
shall n ot be filled in a m anner that may influence the election.

As an exce ption to the forego in g prov isions, a new employee may be

appointed in case of urgent need: Provided, however, That no tice of
the appoi ntment shall be given to the Commission with in tluee days
fro m the date of the appointm ent. Any appointm ent or hiring in
v iolation of this provision shall be null and void.
2. Any governme nt official w ho promotes, or gives any increase of salary
or remunera tion or privilege to any governme nt official o r employee,
including those in governme nt-owned or controll ed corporations.

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.

i. Intervention of public officers and em ployees. - Any officer or employee

in the civ il service, excep t those holdin g po litical offices; any officer,

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.

I Undue influence. - It i s unla wful for any person to p romise a ny office or

e mployment, public o r priva te, or to make or offer to make an
expenditure, directly o r indirec tly, or to cause an expenditure to be made
to any person, association, corporation o r entity, w hich may induce
anyone or the public in general either to vote or w ithhold his vo te, or to
vote for or against any candidate in any election or any aspiran t for the
nomination or selec tion of an official candidate in a convention of a
political party. It is likewise unlawful for any pe rson, association,
corpora tion or community, to solici t or receive, directly or indirectly, any
expenditure or promise or any office, or employment, p u bli c o r pri vate,
for a ny of the foregoing considerati ons.

k Unla w ful electioneering. - It is unlawful to solicit votes or undertake any

propaganda on the day of registration before the board of electi on
inspectors and o n the d ay of election, for or against any ca nd idate or any
political party w ithin the polling place and w ith a radius of thirty meters
thereof.

I. Prohibition aga inst dismissa l of e mpl oyees, laborers, or tenants. - No

empl oyee or laborer shall be dism issed, nor a tenant be ejec ted from his
land holdings for refusing or fail ing to vo te for any cand ida te of his
empl oyer or landowner. Any employee, laborer or tenant so dismissed or
ejected shall be reinsta ted and the salary or wage of the employee or
laborer, or the share of the harves t of the tena nt, shall be restored to the
aggrieved party upon a pplication to the prop er court.

m. Appointment o r use of special policemen, special agents, confid enti al

agents o r the like. -During the ca mpaign period, on the day before and on
elec tion day, any appointing authority who appoints or any person who
utilizes the services of special policem en, special agen ts, confidential
agents or persons performing similar functionsi persons previously
appointed as special policemen, special agents, confidential agen ts or
persons performing similar functions w ho continue acting as such, a nd
those who fail to turn over their firearms, uniforms, insign ias and other
badges of au tho rity to the proper officer w ho issued lhe same.

At the s tar t of the aforementioned period, the barangay chairman,

municipal m ayor, city mayor, provincia l governor, or any appointing
authori ty shall submit to the Commission a com plete lis t of all special
policemen, special agents, confidential agents or persons performing
similar functions in the empl oy of their respective poli tical su bdivisions,
with such particu lars as the Commiss ion may req uire.

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

-12
 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.

o. Use of public funds, m oney deposited in trust, equipmen t, fac il ities

owned o r conbolled by the governme nt fo r an election ca m paign. - Any
person w ho uses und er any guise whatsoev er, d irectly or indirectly, 1)
public funds or m oney deposited wilh, or held in trust by, publi c
financing institution s or by governme nt offices, banks, or agencies; 2) any
printing press, radi o, or telev isio n station or a udio-v isual equipmen t
operated by the Goverrun ent or by its divisions, sub-divisions, agencies or
inshumen talities, including governme nt-owned or conholled
corporatio ns, or by the Armed Forces of the Philippine s; or 3) any
equipme nt, vehicle, facility, appara tus, or paraphern a lia owned by the
governm ent or by its political subdivisio ns, agencies including
governme nt-owned o r controll ed corporations, or by the Armed Fo rces of
the Philippine s for an y election campaign or for any partisa n political
activity.

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.

q. Carrying firearms o utside residence or place of business. - Any pe rson

w ho, although possessing a p ermit to carry firearms, carries any firea rms
outside his res idence or place of business during the election period,
unless authori zed in v.rriting by the Commissi on: Provided, That a motor
vehicl e, water or air craft shall not be considered a residence or place of
business or ex tension h ereof.

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

43
 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.

s. Wearing of uniforms and bearing arms. - During the campa ig n period, o n

the day before and o n election day, any m ember of secu rity or police
orga nization of government agencies, commissions, councils, bureaus,
offices, or government-ow ned o r controlled corporati ons, or privately-
owned or operated sec urity, inves tigative, protec ti ve or in telligence
agencies, w ho wears his uniform or uses his insignia, decoratio ns or
regalia, o r bears arms outside the immediate vicinity of his place of work:
Provided, That this prohibi tion shall not apply when said member is in
pursuit of a person w ho has committed or is committing a crime in the
premises he is guard ing; or w hen escorting or providing security for the
hansport of payrolls, d eposits, or other valuabl es; or w he n guardin g the
res idence of private persons or when guarding private residences,
buildings or offices: Prov ided, further, That in the las t case prior w ritten
approval of the Conunission shall be ob tained. The Commission shall
decide all applications for au thority und er this paragraph w ithin fifteen
days from the date of the filing of such application .

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 .

During the electio n period, w henever the Commission finds it necessary

for the promotion of free, orde rly, hones t and peaceful elections in a
specific area, it shall confi scate or o rder the confiscation of firearms of any
m ember or m embe rs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, police forces,
ho me d efense forces, barangay self-defense units, and all o ther para-
military units that now exist, or which may hereafter be organized, or any
member or members of the security or po1ice organiza tion, government
minishies, commissions, councils, bureaus, offices, instrumentali ties, or
government-owned or con holled corporations and o ther subsidiaries, o r
of any member or members of privately owned or o perated security,
inves tigative, protective or intelli gence agencies performing identical or
similar functions.

44
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.

u. Orga niza tion or maintenance of reacti on forces, strike forces, or o ther

similar forces. - Any person w ho organi zes or m aintains a reactio n force,
strike force or similar force d uring the election pe riod .

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;

b. Work undertake n by contrac t thro ugh pu blic bidd ing held, or by

nego tiated contrac t award ed, before the for ty-five day peri od
before election : Prov ided, That wor k for the purpose of this section
undertaken under the so-called "takay" or "paqui ao" sys tem shall
not be considered as wo rk by conhact;

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

45
 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

d. Emerge ncy work n ecessita ted by the occurre nce of a public

calamity, but s uch work shall be limi ted to the restora tion of the
dama ged facility.

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.

x. Suspen sion of elective provincia l, city, munici pal or barang ay officer. -

The provisi ons of law to the con trary no tw ithstand ing dur ing the election
period, any public official w ho suspen ds, w ithout prior approv al of the
Commi ssion, any elective provinc ial, ci ty, munici pal or barang ay officer,
unless said sus pension w ill be for purpos es of applyin g the "Anti-G raft
and Corrup t Practice s Act" in relation to the suspen sion an d remova l of
elective officials; in w hich case the provisi ons of this section shall be
inappli cable.

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 .

46
 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.

3. Any person who, no t being illitera te or physicall y disabled, allows his

ballot to be prepared by a nother, or any person who prepares the
ballo t of a no ther w ho is not illitera te or physically disabled, w ith or
without the 1atter 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.

9. Any member of a board of election inspectors w ho has mad e possible

the casting of more votes tha n there are registered voters.

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

47
 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 .

13. Any member of the board of election inspecto rs w ho knowing ly uses

ballots other than the official ballots, except in those cases where the
use of emergen cy ballots is authoriz ed .

14. Any public official w ho neglects or fail s to properly preserve or

account for any ballot box, documen ts and forms received by him and
kept under his custody .

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.

19. Any official o r employe e of any printing esta blishmen t or of the

Commis sion or any member of the committee in charge of the printing
of official ballots or election re turns w ho ca uses official ba ll ots or
election re turns to be printed in quantitie s exceed ing those authorized
by the Commis sion or w ho dis tributes, delivers, or in any manner
disposes of or causes to be dis tributed, deli vered, or disposed of, any
official ballo t or elec tion returns to any person or persons no t
authoriz ed by law or by the Commis sion to receive or keep official
ballots or election returns or w ho sends or causes them to be sent to
a ny place not des ignated by law or by the Commis sion .

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.

22. Any person w ho ho lds or ca uses the ho lding of a n election on any

o ther day than that fixed by law or by the Commis sion, or s tops a ny
elec tion being legally held .

-18
23. Any person who deliberate ly blurs his fingerprin t in lhe voting record.

(bb) Common to all boards of election inspectors and boards of

canvassers :
1. Any member of any board of election inspectors or board of
canvasser s who delibera tely absents himself from the meetings
of said bod y for the purpose of obstructin g or delaying the
performan ce of its duties or fun ctions.

2. Any member of any board of election inspectors or boa rd of

canvasser s w ho, without justifiable reason, refuses to sign and
certify any election form requ ired by this Code or prescribed by
the Commission although he was present during the meeting of
the said bod y.

3. Any person w ho, being ineligible for appoinhn ent as member of

any board of election inspectors or board of canvassers , accepts
an appoinbT1ent to said body, assumes office, and actua lly
serves as a member thereof, or any of public officer o r any
person acting in his behalf w ho appoints such ineligible p erson
knowing him to be ineligible.

4. Any perso n who, in the presence or within the hearing of any

board of election inspec tors or board of canvasser s during any
of its m eetings, conducts himself in such a disorderly m anner as
to interrupt or disrupt the work o r proceed ings to the end of
preventin g said body from performin g its functions, either
partly or to tally.

5. Any public official or person ac ting in his behalf w ho relieves

any member of any board of election inspec tors or board of
canvasser s or w ho changes or cau ses the change of the
assignmen ts of any member of said board of elec tion inspectors
o r board of canvasser s without a uthority of the Commissi on.

(cc) On candidacy and campaign :

1. Any political party which holds political conventio ns or

m eetings to nominate its official candid ates earlier that the
period fi xed in this Code.

2. Any person w ho a bstrac ts, desboys or cancels any certificate of

candidacy duly fil ed and which has not been cancell ed upon
order of the Commissi on.

3. Any person w ho misleads the board of elec tion inspectors by

submittin g any false or spuri ous certificate of cand idacy or
document to the prejudice of a ca ndid ate.

4. Any person who, being authori zed to receive certifica tes of

candid acy, receives any certifica te of candidacy outsid e the
period for filing the sa me and makes it appear that said
certificate of candidacy was fil ed on time; or any person w ho,

49
 by means of fraud , threat intimidation, terrorism or coercion,
causes or compels the commission of said act.

5. Any person who, by any device or means, jams, obshucts or

interferes with a radio or television broadcast of any lawful
political program .

6. Any person who solicits votes or undertakes any propaganda,

on the day of election, for or against any ca ndidate or any
political party within the polling place or within a radius of
thirty meters thereof.
dd) Other prohibitions:

1. Any person who sells, furnishes, offers, buys, serves or takes

intoxicating liquor on the days fixed by law for the regishation
of voters in the polling place, or on the day before the election
or on election day: Provided, That hotels and other
establishments duly certified by the Ministry of Tourism as
tourist oriented and habitually in the business of catering to
foreign tourists may be exemp ted for justifiable reasons upon
prior authority of the Commission: Provided, further, That
foreign tourists taking intoxica ting liquor in said authorized
hotels or establishments are exempted from the provisions of
thls subparagraph.

2. Any person who opens in any polling place or within a radius

of thirty meters thereof on election day and during the counting
of votes, booths or stalls of any kind for the sale, dispensing or
display of wares, merchandise or refreshments, whether solid or
liquid, or for any other purposes.

3. Any person who holds on election day, fairs, cockfights, boxing,

horse races, jai-alai or any other similar sports.

4. Refusal to carry election mail matter. - Any operator or

employee of a public utility or transportation company
operating under a certificate of public convenience, including
government-owned or conholled postal service or its employees
or deputized agents who refuse to carry official election mail
matters free of charge during the election period. In addition to
the penalty prescribed herein, such refusal shall constitute a
ground for cancellation or revocation of certificate of public
convenience or franchise.

5. Prohibition against discrimination in the sale of air time. - Any

person who operates a radio or television station who without
justifiable cause discriminates against any political party,
coalition or aggroupment of parties or any candidate in the sale
of air time. Tn addition to the penalty prescribed herein, such
refusal shall constitute a ground for cancellation or revocation
of the franchise.

50
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;

2. For any person to:

a . d eprive an other of an y rights secured m the Overseas Vo ting Act of
2003 as amend ed;

b. give false informa tion as to one' s naiTle, address, or period of residence

for the pu rposes of esta blishing the eligibility or ineli gibility to register
or vote under the Overseas Voting Act of 2003 as amended;

c. conspire w ith another person for the purpose of encouraging the

giving of false informa tion in order to es tablish the e li gibility or
inelig ibility of any indiv idu al to register or vo te under the Overseas
Voting Act of 2003 as amended;

d. p ay, or offer to p ay, or to accep t paym ent either fo r a pplica ti on for

regishation, or for voting;

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;

5. For a ny public officer or e mpl oyee or accred ited or deputi zed

organization or associa tion to cau se the prepara tion, printing, dis hibution
or pos ting of in forma ti on or ma terial, w itho ut the prior appr ova l of the
Commission;

6. For an y public office r or emp loyee to ca use the transfer, promotion,

extensio n, recall of any member of the Foreign Serv ice Corps, including
m embers of a ttached agencies, or otherwise cau se the m ovement of any
such m ember from the c urrent pos t or p os itio n o ne (1) year before and
tlu-ee (3) m onths after the day of elections, without securin g the prior
approval of the Commission;

7. For any person w h o, after being de putized by the Commission to

undertake ac tivities in connection w ith the imp lementa ti on of the
Overseas Vo tin g Act of 2003 as am e nd ed sh all canlp aign for or assist, in
whatever manner, candidates in the elec tions;

8. For an y p erson to engage in partisan p olitical ac ti vity a broad d uring the

thirty (30)-d ay overseas voting period .

51
 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

3. Any and all o ther forms or tampering increase/ s and / or decrease/ s of

votes perpetuated or in cases of refusal to credi t the correct votes or
deduct the tampered vo tes, whe re the total votes involved exceed ten
thou sa nd (10,000) votes.

Any and all o ther pe rsons or individuals de termined to be in conspiracy

or in conni vance w ith the mem bers of the SBEls or SBOCs involved, shall be
meted the sa me penalty of life imprisonment.

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.

The penalty of prisimzmnyor in its minim um p eriod s ha ll be im posed upon

any person found guilty of ta m per ing w ith the ballot, the ma il containing the
ballo ts for overseas voters, the Overseas Vo ting Election Re turns, incl uding the
des truction, mutila tion and ma nipula tion the reof, w ithout the benefit of the
opera tion of the Ind e termina te Sentence Law. If the offender is a p ublic office r o r
a candida te, the pe nalty shall b e prision mayor in its max imum period. In

52
 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

Sec. 76. Assistanc e from governme nt agencies. - a) All governme n t

offices, particulaTly the Departme nt of Foreign Affai rs, Departme nt of Labor &
Employme nt, Departme nt of Transport ation and CmTlmuni ca tions, Philippine
Postal Corporati on, Philippine Overseas Employm ent Adminishation, Overseas
Worker's Welfare Administr ation, Commissi on on Overseas Filipinos, the
Foreign Service Institute, the Social Security System and othe r governme nt
agencies concerned with the welfare of Filipino overseas shall, to the extent
compatibl e with their primary responsibilities, assist and give the Commi ssion
the fu llest support in the implemen tation of the Overseas Voting Act of 2003.
b) The One Counhy Team Approach provided und e r Republic Act No. 8042
(Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995), as enunciate d under
Executive Order No. 74, series of J 993, shall apply in the implemen tation of the
Overseas Voting Act of 2003 insofar as it does not conflict w ilh the constitutio nal
mandate of the Commissi on to have exclusive charge of the eniorcen1ent,
adminishation and implem entati on of electio ns Jaws.

ARTICLE XIX
CONCLU DING PROVISI ONS

Sec. 77. Access to official records and document s. - Subject to the

pertinent provision s of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 as amended
and these Rules, any person shall have the right to access and/ or copy at his/ her
expense all regislTa li on records, voters' lists and oth er official records and
document s, subject to pay ment of prescribed charges.

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.

53
 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

54