EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 50
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 50 -
PROVIDING FOR THE GENERAL REGISTRATION OF VOTERS FOR THE PLEBISCITE ON
THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Provincial
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, a new Constitution
shall be drafted by the Constitutional Commission and thereafter
submitted to the people in a plebiscite;
WHEREAS, to ensure that the true will of the people will be reflected
in the plebiscite, there is a need to annul the existing permanent list
of voters and to call for a new registration of voters.
NOW THEREFORE, I CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, do
hereby order:
A.
— General Provisions
Section 1. General Registration of Voters. — The
existing permanent lists of voters in every city and municipality are
hereby declared null and void. A general registration of voters shall
be held throughout the Philippines before the plebiscite on the new
Constitution in accordance with the Executive Order on such dates as
the Commission on Elections may fix.
Sec. 2. List of Voters. — There shall be a list of
voters in each city and municipality, with such additions,
cancellations and corrections as herein provided.
Sec. 3. Necessity of Registration. — In order that
a qualified voter may vote in the plebiscite, he must be registered in
the list of voters for the city or municipality in which he
resides.
Sec. 4. Who may be Registered in the List of
Voters. — All persons possessing all the qualifications and none of the
disqualifications of a voter and who have complied with the
requirements for the registration of voters shall be registered in the
list of voters of the city or municipality wherein they reside. Any
person who may not have attained on the date of registration the age or
period of residence required may also be registered upon proof that on
the date of the plebiscite, he shall have such qualifications.
Sec. 5. Board of Election Inspectors. — At least
ten (10) days before the first day of registration of voters in
accordance herewith, the Commission shall, directly or through its duly
authorized representatives, constitute a Board of Election Inspectors
for each precinct to be composed of a Chairman and two members, who
shall all be public school teachers registered as voters of the city or
municipality; Provided, That in case of shortage of public school
teachers, the Commission may appoint private school teachers, or other
citizens of known probity and competence, who are registered voters of
the city or municipality. The appointment shall specifically state the
precinct to which they are assigned and the date of the
appointment.
The members of the Board shall each receive a per diem of Fifty Pesos
for each day of actual service rendered in the Board.
B.
— Registration of Voters
Sec. 6. Procedure in Registration. — Any person
qualified to vote shall register with the Board of Election Inspectors
of the precinct in which his residence is included on any of the dates
fixed by the Commission on Elections under Section 1 hereof by
accomplishing in four (4) copies a voter’s affidavit in which he shall
state the following data:
(a)
Surname, first name, middle name, if any and maternal surname in that
order;
(b) Date and
place of birth;
(c)
Citizenship;
(d) Period of
residence in the Philippines and in the place of registration;
(e) Exact
address with the name of the street and house number or in case there
is none, a brief description of the locality and the place;
(f) A
statement that the applicant has not applied for registration in any
other precinct, city or municipality for this 1986 general registration
of voters; and
(g) Such other
information or data which may be required by the Commission.
The voter’s affidavit shall also contain three specimens of the
applicant’s signature and clear and legible fingerprints and shall be
subscribed and sworn to by him before all the members of the Board.
The oath of the applicant shall include a statement that he does not
have any of the disqualifications of a voter and he has not been
previously registered in the precinct or any other precinct under this
General Registration of Voters.
Before the applicant accomplishes his voter’s affidavit, the Board
shall apprise him of the qualifications and disqualifications
prescribed for a voter as herein provided. It shall see to it that the
accomplished voter’s affidavit contains all the date therein required
and that the applicant’s specimen signatures, the prints of his left
and right hand thumbmarks and the rest of his fingerprints are properly
affixed in each copy of his voter’s affidavit.
Sec. 7. Action by the Board. — Upon receipt of the
voter’s affidavit, the Board shall examine the date therein. If it
finds that the applicant possesses all the qualifications and none of
the disqualifications of a voter, he shall be registered. Otherwise, he
shall not be registered.
The name and address of each registered voter shall, immediately upon
his registration, be entered in the proper alphabetical group in the
list of voters. The voter’s identification card duly attested by the
Chairman of the Board shall be issued to the voter.
Sec. 8. Voter’s Identification Card. — The
identification card issued to the voter shall serve and be considered
as a document for the identification of each registered voter:
Provided, That if the voter’s identity is challenged on the day of
voting and he can not present his voter’s identification card or his
identification card bears signs of tampering, his identity may be
established by the specimen signature, or the fingerprints in his
voter’s affidavit in the book of voters. No extra or duplicate copy of
the voter’s identification card shall be prepared and issued except
upon express written authority of the Commission.
Each identification card shall bear the name and the address of the
voter, his date of birth, sex, civil status and the precinct number
where he is registered.
C.
— List of Voters
Sec. 9. Preparation of List of Voters. — For the
preparation of the list of voters as provided in this Executive Order,
the Board of Election Inspectors of each precinct shall hold four (4)
meetings on the date fixed by the Commission on Elections under Section 1 of this Executive Order. At these meetings the Board shall prepare in
the alphabetical order of the surnames of the voters eight (8) copies
of the list of voters who registered in the precinct.
Sec. 10. Closing of the List of Voters. — The
Board of Election Inspectors shall also meet on the fourth (4th)
Saturday immediately preceding the day of the plebiscite, for the
purpose of making such inclusions, exclusions, and corrections as may
be ordered by the courts, stating opposite every name so corrected,
added, or cancelled, the date of the order and the court which issued
the same, and for the consecutive numbering of the voters registered in
the election precinct.
Should the Board fail to include in the list of voters any person
ordered by a competent court to be so included, the said person shall,
upon representation of a copy of the order of inclusion duly certified
by the Clerk of Court and upon proper identification, even on the day
of the plebiscite, be allowed by the Board to vote.
Should the board fail to exclude from the list of voters any person
ordered by the court to be so excluded, the Board shall not permit said
person to vote upon presentation to it by any interested party of a
certified copy of the order of exclusion.
Sec. 11. Preservation of Voter’s Affidavits. — A
copy of the affidavit of each voter shall be kept by the Board until
after the day of the plebiscite, when it shall deliver the same to the
Election Registrar together with copies of the list of voters and other
election papers. The Election Registrar shall compile the voter’s
affidavits by precincts in the alphabetical order of surnames in a book
of voters. The other two (2) copies shall be sent by the Board on the
day after the last date for registration of voters to the Office of the
Provincial Election Supervisor and the main office of the Commission in
Manila. The Provincial Election Supervisor and the Commission shall
respectively file and preserve the voter’s affidavits by cities and
municipalities in the alphabetical order of their surnames. The fourth
copy of the affidavit shall be given immediately to the voter as
evidence of this registration.
Sec. 12. Provincial Central File of Registered
Voters. — There shall be a Provincial Central File of registered voters
containing the duplicate copies of all approved voter’s affidavits in
each city and municipality in the province which shall be under the
care and custody of the Provincial Election Supervisor. The application
shall be compiled by precincts in the alphabetical order of the
surnames of the registered voters to make the file an exact replica of
the book of voters in the possession of the Election Registrar.
Should the books of voters in the care and custody of the Election
Registrar be lost or destroyed at a time so close to the plebiscite
that there is no time to reconstitute the same the corresponding book
of voters in the provincial file shall be used during the
plebiscite.
Sec. 13. National Central File of Registered
Voters. — There shall also be a National Central File of Registered
voters consisting of the triplicate copies of all approved voter’s
affidavits in all cities and municipalities, which shall be prepared
and kept in the Central Office of the Commission. The applications in
the National Central File shall be compiled alphabetically according to
the surnames of the registered voters regardless of the place of
registration.
Sec. 14. Columns in the List of Voters. — The list
of voters shall be arranged in columns as follows:
(a)
In the first column there shall be entered, at the time of closing of
the list before the plebiscite, a number opposite the name of each
voter registered, beginning with number one and continuing in
consecutive order until the end of the list;
(b) In the
second column, the surname of the registered voter shall be written in
alphabetical order followed by the first name, middle name, if any, and
maternal surname, without abbreviations of any kind;
(c) In the
third column, the residence of such person with the house number, name
of the street, sitio and barangay, or, in case there be none, a brief
but sufficient description of the locality or place shall be entered;
(d) In the
fourth column, the date of birth and periods of residence in the
Philippines and in the city or municipality shall be entered;
(e) In the
fifth column, there shall be entered, on the day of the plebiscite, the
number of the ballot given successively to each voter;
(f) In the
sixth column, the voter shall affix on the day of the plebiscite, his
right thumbmark and under said mark his signature, which shall be the
same as the signature in his voter’s affidavit;
(g) And in the
seventh column, the signature of the Chairman of the Board of Election
Inspectors who handed the ballot to the voter.
It will be sufficient that the
fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh columns be filled in the copy of the
list under the custody of any of the members of the Board of Election
Inspectors who shall see to it that the thumbmark is affixed clearly.
Sec. 15. Certificate of the Board of Election
Inspectors in the List of Voters. — Upon the adjournment of each
meeting for the registration of voters, the Board of Elections
Inspectors shall close each alphabetical group surnames of voters by
writing the dates on the next line in blank which shall be forthwith
signed by each member, and, before adding the new name of the same
pages at the next meeting, it shall write the following: “ Added at the
_________ meeting”, specifying if it is the second or third meeting of
the Board, as the case may be. If the meeting adjourned is the last one
for the registration of voters, the Board shall, besides closing each
alphabetical group of surnames of registered voters as above provided,
add at the end of the list a certificate (a) whether or not corrections
and cancellations were made in the list, specifying them, if any, and
(b) specifying in words and numerals the total number of voters
registered in the precinct as at the close of the registration
period.
Sec. 16. Publication of the list. — At the first
regular office hour of the working day following the last day of
registration of voters, the poll clerk shall deliver to the Election
Registrar a copy of the lists certified to by the Board Election
Inspectors as provided in the preceding section, another copy, also
certified and properly sealed, shall be sent to the Provincial Election
Supervisor of the province by messenger, and another copy, likewise
certified and properly sealed, shall be sent by registered mail special
delivery with return card, to the central office of the Commission
where the said copies shall be opened to public inspection during
regular office hours. On the same day and hour, the poll clerk shall
also post a copy of the list in the polling place in a secure place on
the door or near the same at the height of a meter and a half, where it
may be conveniently consulted by interested parties. The chairman and
the two (2) other members of the Board shall each keep a copy of the
list which may be inspected by the public in their respective residence
or offices during regular office hours. Immediately after the meeting
of the Board for the closing of the list, the member designated as the
poll clerk shall also send a notice to the Election Registrar,
Provincial Election Supervisor and the Commission in Manila regarding
the changes and the numberings referred to in Sec. 10 hereof, to be
attached to the copy of the list sent to them previously.
D.
— Administrative and Judicial Powers
Sec. 17. Challenge of Right to Register. — Any
person applying for registration may be challenged before the Board of
Election Inspectors on any registration day by any voter or by any
member of the Board of Election Inspectors. The Board shall then
examine the challenged person and shall receive such other evidence as
it may deem pertinent, after which it shall decide by majority vote
whether the voter shall be properly included in or excluded from the
list. All challenges shall be heard and decided without delay, and in
no case beyond two (2) days from the date the challenge was made.
After the question has been decided, the Board of Election Inspectors
shall give to the party challenged a brief certified statement setting
forth the challenge and the decision thereon.
Sec. 18. Power of the Board of Election Inspectors
to Administer Oath and Issue Summons. — For the purpose of determining
the right of applicants to be registered as voters in the list, the
Board of Election Inspectors shall have the same power to administer
oaths, to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum and to compel
witnesses to appear and testify, but the latter’s fees and expenses
incident to the process shall be paid in advance by the party in whose
behalf the summons is issued.
Sec. 19. Jurisdiction in Inclusion and Exclusion
Cases. — The Municipal and Metropolitan Trial Courts shall have
original and exclusive jurisdiction over all matters of inclusion and
exclusion of voters from the list in their respective municipalities
and cities. The decision of the Municipal or Metropolitan Trial Courts
shall be rendered in within ten (10) days after the filing of the
petition and may be appealed directly by the aggrieved party to the
proper Regional Trial Court within five (5) days from receipt of notice
thereof, otherwise said decision of the Municipal or Metropolitan Trial
Court shall become final and executory. The Regional Trial Court shall
decide the appeal within ten (10) days from filing and its decision
shall be immediately final and executory. No motion for reconsideration
shall be entertained by the Courts. Failure of the judges concerned to
comply with the deadlines fixed in this Section shall subject them to
administrative action.
Sec. 20. Petition for Inclusion of Voters in the
List. — Any person whose application for registration has been
disapproved by the Board of Election Inspectors or whose name has been
stricken out from the list may apply, within fifteen (15) days after
the last registration day, to the proper Municipal or Metropolitan
Trial Court, for an order directing the Board of Election Inspectors to
include or reinstate his name in the list, together with the
certificate of the Board of Election Inspectors regarding his case and
proof of service of notice of his petition upon a member of the Board
of Election Inspectors with indication of the date, time, place and
court before which the petition is to be heard.
Sec. 21. Voters Excluded Through Inadvertence or
Registered with an Erroneous or Misspelled Name. — Any voter who has
registered under this general registration of voters whose name has
been inadvertently omitted from the list prepared for the plebiscite or
who has been included therein with a wrong or misspelled name or
address shall have the right to file an application within fifteen (15)
days after the last registration day with the proper Municipal or
Metropolitan Trial Court, for an order directing that his name be
reinstated in the list or that he be registered with his correct name
or address. He shall attach to such application a xerox copy of his
voter’s affidavit, together with proof that he has applied without
success to the Board of Election Inspectors for such reinstatement or
correction and that he has served a copy of the application to a member
of the Board.
Sec. 22. Change of Name of Registered Voter. — Any
previously registered voter whose name has been changed by reason of
marriage or by virtue of a court order may request the Board of
Election Inspectors during any of its meetings held under this general
registration of voters that his registration in the list be recorded
under his new name.
Sec. 23. Petition For Exclusion of Voters from the
List. — Any registered voter in a city or municipality, or the Election
Registrar, may apply at any time within fifteen (15) days after the
last registration day with the proper Municipal or Metropolitan Trial
Court, for the exclusion of a voter from the list of a given precinct,
giving the name and residence of the latter, the precinct in which he
is registered and the ground or grounds for the challenge. The petition
shall be sworn to by the petitioners and accompanied by proof of notice
to the Board of Election Inspectors concerned and to the challenged
voter.
Sec. 24. Common Rules Governing Judicial
Proceedings in the Matter of Inclusion, Exclusion, and Correction of
Names of Voters. — (a) No petition for inclusion, exclusion, and
correction of names of voters shall be received outside or regular
office hours.
(b) Notices to the members of the Board of Election
Inspectors and to the challenged voters shall state the place, date and
time in which such petition shall be heard, and such notice may be made
by sending a copy thereof by registered mail special delivery with
return card or by personal delivery or by leaving it in the possession
of an identifiable person of sufficient discretion in the residence of
the person to be notified or, in the event, that the foregoing
procedure is not practicable, by posting a copy thereof in a
conspicuous place in the city hall or municipal building and in two
other conspicuous places within the city or municipality, at least five
(5) days prior to the date set for the hearing.
In the interest of justice and to afford the challenged voter every
opportunity to contest the petition for exclusion, the court concerned
may, when the challenged voter fails to appear on the first day set for
the hearing, order that notice be effected in such manner and within
such period of time as it may decide, which time shall in no case be
more than four (4) days from the day the respondent is first found in
default.
(c) Each petition shall refer to only one
precinct.
(d) No costs shall be assessed in these proceedings.
However, if the court should be satisfied that the application has been
filed for the purpose of harassing the adverse party and causing him to
incur expenses, it may condemn the culpable party to pay the costs and
incidental expenses.
(e) The decision shall be based on the evidence
presented. If the question is whether or not the voter is real or
fictitious, the non-appearance of the voter on the day set for hearing
shall be prima facie evidence that such voter is fictitious. In no case
shall a decision be rendered upon a stipulation of facts.
(f) These applications shall be heard and decided
without delay. The decision shall be rendered within six (6) hours
after the hearing.
Sec. 25. Canvass to Check Registration. — After
the plebiscite, the respective Election Registrars, with the assistance
of their Provincial Election Supervisors shall conduct regular
verification by mail or house-to-house canvass, or both, of the
registered voters of any precinct for purposes of exclusion
proceedings.
Sec. 26. Annulment of Lists of Voters. — Any book
of voters not prepared in accordance with the provisions of this
Executive Order or the preparation of which has been effected by fraud,
bribery, forgery, impersonation, intimidation, force, or any other
similar irregularities or which list is statistically improbably may,
upon verified petition of any voter or by the Election Registrar, and
after notice and hearing, or motu proprio by the Commission, when the
list of voters has been prepared in a manner which is palpably
irregular, be annulled by the Commission which shall then order a new
registration of voters in the affected precincts on a date or dates
fixed by it; Provided, That no order, ruling or decision of the
Commission annulling a book of voters shall be executed within thirty
(30) days before the plebiscite.
Sec. 27. Reconstitution of Lost or Destroyed
Registration Records. — The Commission shall reconstitute all
registration records which have been lost or destroyed. For this
purpose, it shall be the duty of the Election Registrar concerned to
report immediately to the Commission any loss or destruction of
approved applications for registration in his custody. Such
reconstitutions shall be made with the use of the corresponding copies
in the National or Provincial Central Files of registered voters:
Provided, That if this is not feasible, the registered voter concerned
may be summoned by the Election Registrar to effect such reconstitution
by accomplishing a new application. Reconstitution forms shall be
clearly marked with the word “Reconstituted”.
The reconstitution of any lost or destroyed application for
registration shall not affect the criminal liability of any person or
persons who may be responsible for such loss or destruction.
Sec. 28. Examination of Registration Records. —
All registration records in the possession of the city or municipal
Election Registrar, the Provincial Election Supervisor, and the
Commission shall, during regular office hours, be open to examination
by the public.
Law enforcement agencies shall, upon prior authorization by the said
Commission, have access to said registration records should the same be
necessary to, or in aid of, their investigative functions and duties,
subject to regulations promulgated by the Commission.
Sec. 29. Posting of List of Voters. — On the day
immediately following revision day, the Board of Election Inspectors
must post the FINAL list of voters in each precinct with each and every
page thereof duly signed or subscribed and sworn to by the members of
the Board of Election Inspectors and that failure to comply with this
provision will constitute an election offense.
Any voter, upon formal request made to an Election Registrar, shall be
entitle to a certified copy of the most recent list of voters in any
precinct, municipality, or city or province, upon payment of a
reasonable fee as may be prescribed by the Commission.
Sec. 30. Applicability of Pertinent of Batas
Pambansa Blg. 881. — The pertinent provisions of Batas Pambansa Blg.
881, otherwise known as the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines
regarding precincts and polling places, Board of Election Inspectors,
watchers, election offenses including penalties, preliminary
investigations, prosecution, jurisdiction of courts, prescription,
persons criminally liable, and other provisions, which are not in
conflict with this Executive Order shall remain in full force and
effect and hereby adopted as part hereof; Provided, That the forms and
other papers necessary for purpose of this general registration of
voters and plebiscite shall be printed under the supervision and
control of the Commission: Provided, further, That the Commission may
engage the services of any printing press and shall provide appropriate
security measures for the printing, storage and distribution
thereof.
Sec. 31. Appropriation. — The amount of THREE
HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE MILLION PESOS or so much thereof as may be
necessary for the purpose of the implementation of this Executive Order
is hereby set aside out of the appropriation of the Commission on
Elections in its current budget and savings, which shall both be
automatically released by the Ministry of the Budget upon request of
the Chairman of the Commission of Elections. In case of deficiencies,
the funds herein provided shall be augmented from the Special
Activities Fund intended for special priority activities authorized in
the current General Appropriation Act, which shall likewise be
automatically released upon similar request by the Chairman of the
Commission on Elections.
Sec. 32. Repealing Clause. — All laws, orders,
issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof, inconsistent with
this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 33. Effectivity. — This Executive Order shall
take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 20th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
eighty-six.
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