Recall, Initiative and

Referendum
Pat Ray M Dagapioso
February 16, 2010
Rm 110
 Recall Election

• - is a mode of removal of a public officer by

the people before the end of his term.
• This power is an incident of the people’s
sovereign power and is described as a
fundamental right of the people in a
representative democracy.
The Basis of Recall Election

• The right of recall is complementary to the

right to elect or appoint.
• It is based on the theory that the electorate
must maintain a direct and elastic control over
public functionaries.
Who can exercise the power of recall?

• The power of recall for loss of confidence may

be exercised by the registered voters of a local
unit to which the local elective official subject
to recall belongs.
Loss of Confidence Defined

• Means the formal withdrawal by an electorate

of their trust in a person’s ability to discharge
his office previously bestowed by him by the
same electorate.
Voting Population Percentage

Voting Population Voting Population Exceptions

Percentage (Actual Voting
Population)
20,000 (-) 25%
75,000 – 20,000 20% 5,000+

300,000-75,000 15% 15,000+

300,000 (+) 10% 45,000+

 Recall: Procedure
• 1. A written petition for recall
duly signed by the representatives
of the petitioners before the
election registrar or his
representative, shall be filed w/
the COMELEC through its office
in the Local Government Unit
concerned.
 Recall: Procedure
• 2. The COMELEC shall, w/n
fifteen (15) days from the filing
of the petition, certify to the
sufficiency of the required
number of signatures. Failure to
obtain the required number of
signatures automatically nullifies
the petition.
 Recall: Procedure
• 3. If the petition is found to be sufficient
in form, the COMELEC shall w/n Three
(3) days from the issuance of the
certification, provide the official sought to
be recalled a copy of the petition, cause its
publication in a national newspaper of
general circulation and a newspaper of
general circulation in the locality once a
week for three (3)…
 Recall: Procedure
• …consecutive weeks at the expense of the
petitioners and at the same time post
copies thereof in public and conspicuous
places for a period of not less than ten (10)
days nor more than twenty (20) days, for
the purpose of allowing interested parties
to examine and verify the validity of the
petition and the authenticity of the
signatures contained therein.
 Recall: Procedure
• 4. The COMELEC or its duly authorized
representative shall, upon issuance of
certification, proceed independently with the
verification and authentication of the
signatures of the petitioners and registered
votes contained therein. Representatives of the
petitioners and the official sought to be
recalled have the right to participate therein as
mere observers…
Recall: Procedure
• …The filing of any challenge/protest shall be
allowed within the period provided in the
immediately preceding paragraph and shall be
ruled upon with finality within fifteen (15)
days from the date of filing of such protest or
challenge.
Recall: Procedure
• 5. Upon the lapse of the aforesaid period, the
COMELEC (or its representative) shall
announce the acceptance of candidates to the
position and thereafter prepare the list of
candidates w/c shall include the name of the
official sought to be recalled.
Election Proper
• Election on Recall. - Upon the filing of a valid
resolution or petition for recall with the
appropriate local office of the Comelec, the
Commission or its duly authorized
representative shall set the date of the election
on recall, which shall not be later than thirty
(30) days…
Election Proper
• …after the filing of the resolution or petition for
recall in the case of the barangay, city, or municipal
officials, and forty-five (45) days in the case of
provincial officials. The official or officials sought to
be recalled shall automatically be considered as duly
registered candidate or candidates to the pertinent
positions and, like other candidates, shall be entitled
to be voted upon.
Contents of the Petition for Recall
• 1. The names and addresses of the petitioners written
in legible form and their signatures.
• 2. The Barangay, City/Municipality, Local
Legislative Districts and the province to which the
petitioners belong.
• 3. The name of the official sought to be recalled.
• 4. A brief narration of the reasons and justifications
thereof.
Effectivity of the Recall
• The recall of an elective official shall be
effective only upon the election and
proclamation of a successor in the person of
the candidate receiving the highest number of
votes cast on recall. If the incumbent official
receives the most votes, then trust in him is
affirmed and he shall continue in office.
Frequency of Recall Election

• 1. Any elective local official may be subject of

a recall election only once during his term of
office for loss of confidence.
• 2. No recall shall take place within one year
from the date of the official’s assumption to
the office or one year immediately preceding a
regular local election.
 Local Government Units on Initiative
and Referendum

• Both are legal processes.

• Local initiative is a legal process whereby the
registered voters of a Local Government Unit
may directly propose, enact or amend any
ordinance, or resolutions.
Referendum Defined
• Local referendum is a legal process whereby
the registered voters of Local Government
Units may approves, amend or reject any
ordinance enacted by the Sanggunian through
an election held for that purpose.
Duration of Referendum
• 60 days in Provinces and Cities
• 45 days in Municipalities
• 30 days in Barangays
• The COMELEC shall certify and proclaim the
results of the said referendum.
Who can exercise inititative and
referendum?

• All registered voters of the Provinces, Cities,

Municipalities, and Barangays and
Metropolitan Subdivisions as may be created
by law.
Procedure Proper

• 1. The registered voters in the Local

Government Unit concerned may file a
petition with the Sanggunian concerned
proposing the adoption, enactment, repeal, or
amendment of an ordinance.
• 2. Number of Petitioners: 1000+ (provinces
and cities), 100 (municipalities), 50
(barangays).
Procedure Proper
• 3. If no favorable action thereon is taken by
the Sanggunian concerned w/n 30 days from
its presentation, the proponents, through their
duly authorized and registered representatives,
may invoke their power of initiative, giving
notice thereof to the Sanggunian concerned.
 Procedure Proper

• 4. The proposition shall be numbered serially starting

from Roman Numeral I. Two or more propositions may
be submitted in an initiative.
• 5. The proponents have ninety days in case of provinces
and cities, sixty days in municipalities, and 30 days in
barangays, from notice mentioned … to collect the
required number of signatures.
Procedure Proper
• 6. The petition shall be signed before the
election registrar, in the presence of a
representative of the proponent, and a
representative of the Sanggunian concerned in
a public place in the Local Government unit,
as the case may be. Stations for collecting
signatures may be established in as many
places as may be warranted.
Procedure Proper
• 7. Upon the lapse of the period herein
provided, the COMELEC, through its office in
the Local Government Unit concerned shall
certify as to whether or not the required
number of signatures has been obtained.
Failure to obtain the required number defeats
the proposition.
Procedure Proper
• 8. If the required number of signatures is
obtained, the COMELEC shall then set a date
for the initiative during which the proposition
shall be submitted to the registered voters in
the Local Government Unit concerned for their
approval w/n 60 days from the date of
certification in provinces and cities, 45 days in
municipalities, and 30 days in Barangays…
Procedure Proper

• The initiative shall then be held on the date set,

after w/c the results thereof shall be certified
and proclaimed by the COMELEC.
Effectivity of the Local Propositions
• If the proposition is approved by a majority of
the votes cast, it shall take effect 15 days after
certification by the COMELEC as if
affirmative action thereon had been made by
the Sanggunian and Local Chief Executive
concerned.
• If it fails to obtain said number of votes, the
proposition is considered defeated.
Limitations

• 1. The power of local inititative shall not be

exercised more than once a year.
• 2. Initiative shall extend only to subjects or
matters w/c are w/n legal powers of the
Sanggunian to enact.
Limitations
• 3. If at any time before the initiative is held,
the Sanggunian concerned adopts in toto the
proposition presented and the Local Chief
Executive approves the same, the initiative
shall be canceled. However, those against such
action may, if they so desire, apply for
initiative in the manner herein provided.
Sanggunian Amendment

• The ordinance approved by the

initiative/referendum shall not be modified,
repealed or amended by the Sanggunian w/n 6
months of approval.
• Can only be amended, modified or repealed
w/n 3 years thereafter by ¾ of all its members.
Contents of the Proposition
• 1. Context/Text of the Ordinance to be
enacted, repealed or amended, approved or
rejected.
• 2. The proposition
• 3. The reasons therefor
• 4. That it is not one of the limitations provided
in Sec. 124 of the LGC
• 5. Signatures of the petitioners/registered
voters
 Contents of the Proposition

• 6. Formal designation of their duly authorized

representatives.

7. An abstract or summary proposition in not

more than one hundred words which shall be
legibly written….
Procedure for Signing the Petition
• 1. Petition shall be signed before the Election
Registrar.
• 2. Signature of the voters shall be affixed on the form
prescribed by the COMELEC.
• 3. Each voter must affix his signature over printed
name.
• 4. Election registrar must verify the genuineness of
the signatures of the voters.
• 5. election registrar may cancel any signature that is
forged/falsified.
The End!!!

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