Question & AnswerQ&A (Commonwealth Act No. 34)
The primary purpose of Commonwealth Act No. 34 is to provide for the holding of a plebiscite on the question of woman suffrage in the Philippines.
The plebiscite was scheduled to be held on Friday, April 30, 1937.
Every female citizen of the Philippines, twenty-one years of age or over, who has been a resident of the Philippines for one year and of the municipality wherein she proposes to vote for at least six months preceding the plebiscite, and who possesses the qualifications required by existing law for male voters, but without the disqualifications therein specified, is entitled to vote.
Article V of the Constitution shall be published in the Official Gazette in English and Spanish for three consecutive issues at least fifteen days prior to the election, and posted in a conspicuous place in each municipal and provincial office building and each polling place not later than April 22, 1937, and remain posted until after the termination of the plebiscite.
Four watchers shall be appointed for each polling place in every municipality by the women's club organized therein, or if none, by the National Federation of Women's Clubs. The same number of watchers shall be allowed to groups or organizations opposed to woman suffrage.
Female voters must fill out and sign under oath an identification card stating their full name, age, civil status, citizenship, length of residence in the Philippines and municipality, and ability to read and write any native language, Spanish, or English.
The registration of voters shall be held on April 10 and 17, 1937, between seven in the morning and seven in the afternoon, with provisions to register those present after hours under specified conditions.
If not less than three hundred thousand qualified women vote affirmatively in the plebiscite, woman suffrage will be granted.
All women possessing the required qualifications will be entitled to vote in any subsequent elections, and the registration list used in the plebiscite may be used in future elections until revised by law.
Boards of inspectors prepare three copies of returns; these are sent to the Secretary of the National Assembly and the Secretary of the Interior by registered mail. The National Assembly makes the count and proclamation of results.
Each election inspector and poll clerk receives two pesos for each day of actual service rendered in connection with the plebiscite.
All judicial proceedings for inclusion or exclusion of voters shall be free of charge and must be filed not later than April 23, 1937, and finally decided on or before April 26, 1937.
The provincial boards, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, are responsible for organizing election precincts, designating polling places, and appointing election inspectors and poll clerks with substitutes.
One hundred and fifty thousand pesos, or as much thereof as necessary, is appropriated out of the National Treasury for expenses incurred in holding the plebiscite.
The Act took effect upon its approval on September 30, 1936.