Voter registration and voter list rules
- The Citizens Election Committee shall receive and act on applications for registration of qualified voters from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on May 30, 1981.
- After receiving applications, the Citizens Election Committee shall immediately continue meeting to prepare the list of voters in accordance with the Election Code of 1978.
- No further registration is allowed within ten days prior to the day of election.
- The Election Registrar shall deliver to the Citizens Election Committee the Precinct Book of Voters corresponding to the voting center concerned.
Candidates’ filings and party nominations
- No person shall be elected President unless the person files in triplicate with the Commission on Elections a sworn certificate of candidacy in the form prescribed by the Commission on Elections under the Election Code of 1978.
- The filing of the certificate of candidacy must be done not later than April 28, 1981.
- Political parties, coalitions, and other similar groups or organizations shall submit to the Commission on Elections a certificate of nomination of their respective official candidates.
- The submission of the certificate of nomination must be done not later than April 28, 1981.
Election period and campaign period
- The Commission on Elections fixes the election period in accordance with Section 6, Article XII (C) of the Constitution, as amended.
- The campaign period begins on April 24, 1981 and ends on June 14, 1981.
Citizens Election Committees
- For the election, the Commission on Elections shall appoint a Citizens Election Committee for each election precinct, either directly or through duly authorized representatives.
- Each Citizens Election Committee shall have a chairman and four members, with one member designated concurrently as poll clerk.
- The chairman, the poll clerk, and one member (and their substitutes) must be public school teachers; precedence is given to civil service eligibles who have been in the service for more than five years and who are registered voters of the city, municipality, or municipal district.
- Public school teachers and other individuals who served in the Citizens Plebiscite Committees on April 7, 1981 shall continue to serve in the same polling centers, subject to the Commission on Elections’ power to make new appointments or transfers whenever needed.
- The appointment of the other two members and their substitutes shall be proposed by accredited political parties.
Compensation for Citizens Election Committees
- The chairman and each member of the Citizens Election Committee shall receive PHP 50 per diem on election day.
- Each chairman and each member shall receive PHP 25 for every meeting day before election.
- The per diem shall be paid on election day and on each meeting day.
Election returns preparation and distribution
- Each Citizens Election Committee shall prepare in handwriting and sign the election returns in quintuplicate in its voting center using a form prescribed by the Commission on Elections.
- One copy of the returns shall be deposited in the compartment of the ballot box for valid ballots.
- In municipalities or municipal districts:
- Two copies, including the original copy, shall be handed to the municipal Election Registrar.
- The municipal Election Registrar shall immediately deliver the original copy to the Provincial Election Officer and forward the other copy to the Commission on Elections.
- One copy each shall be given to the authorized representatives of the accredited political parties or groups.
- In cities:
- The City Registrar shall retain the original copy.
- The other copy shall be forwarded to the Commission on Elections.
- One copy each shall be given to the authorized representatives of the accredited political parties or groups.
Boards of canvassers: composition and appointment
- The Provincial Board of Canvassers shall be composed of:
- The Provincial Election Officer or a representative of the Commission on Elections as chairman, and
- The Provincial Fiscal, the Division or Provincial Superintendent of Schools, and two representatives of accredited political parties as members.
- If a province has two or more Division Superintendents of Schools, the Commission shall appoint as member the more senior superintendent who is not a native of the province.
- The City Board of Canvassers shall be composed of:
- A representative of the Commission on Elections who is a lawyer as chairman, and
- The City Fiscal, City Superintendent of Schools, and two representatives of accredited political parties as members.
Provincial and city canvassing procedure
- The Provincial or City Board of Canvassers shall meet not later than 6:00 p.m. on election day to canvass returns already received by it.
- The board shall meet continuously from day to day until the canvass is completed, and it may adjourn only to await other election returns.
- Each time the board adjourns, it shall:
- Total the votes cast for each Presidential candidate, and
- Furnish the Commission on Elections in Manila a copy by the fastest means of communication, and
- Make available the data to mass media and other interested parties.
- After the other election returns are delivered, the board shall immediately resume canvassing until all votes cast in the province or city are canvassed.
- Upon completion of the canvass, the board shall make a statement of all votes received by each candidate for President.
- After completion of the statements, the board shall certify and transmit the returns as provided in the Constitution.
Certificates of election returns and transmission
- Provincial and City Boards of Canvassers shall prepare the certificate of election returns for the election of President, supported by a statement of votes by voting center.
- The certificate and supporting statement shall be prepared in quintuplicate using carbon papers or such other means as the Commission on Elections prescribes so that all five copies are produced in one handwriting.
- After completion, the certificate and statements shall be enclosed in envelopes furnished by the Commission and sealed.
- Distribution requirements:
- The original copy shall be sealed in the envelope directed to the Speaker and delivered to the Speaker at the Batasang Pambansa by the fastest possible means.
- The second copy shall be sealed in the envelope directed to the Commission on Elections.
- The third copy shall be retained by the Provincial Election Officer (for Provincial Boards) or the City Election Registrar (for City Boards).
- One copy each shall be delivered to the authorized representatives of the accredited political parties or groups.
Counting of votes and proclamation
- Returns for President duly certified by each Provincial or City Board of Canvassers shall be transmitted to the Speaker of the Batasang Pambansa.
- The Speaker shall open all certificates and count the votes not later than June 21, 1981, in the presence of the Batasang Pambansa.
- The candidate with the highest number of votes shall be proclaimed elected.
- If two or more candidates tie with the highest number of votes, the Batasang Pambansa shall immediately choose one of them by a vote of a majority of all its Members in session assembled.
Handling incomplete certificates, alterations, and errors
- If a certificate of canvass transmitted to the Speaker appears to be incomplete, the Speaker shall require the concerned Board of Canvassers to transmit, by personal delivery, the statements from voting centers not included in the transmitted returns.
- The supplemental certificate of canvass shall be prepared in the same manner as required for certificates under Section ten, and it shall be submitted by personal delivery within two days from receipt of notice.
- If any certificate of canvass or supporting statement of votes shows erasures or alterations that may cast doubt on the veracity of the stated vote numbers and may affect the result, the Batasang Pambansa, upon request of the concerned presidential candidate or his party, shall verify the actual number of votes cast by counting the votes appearing in statement of election returns from all precincts in the province or city concerned.
- For verification, the Speaker shall require the concerned Provincial Election Officer or City Registrar to personally deliver to the Batasang Pambansa the copy of the statements of election returns canvassed by the provincial or city board.
- The Speaker may require the Commission on Elections to place its copy of such statements of election returns at the disposal of the Batasang Pambansa.
- No correction of errors allegedly committed in returns already transmitted to the Speaker of the Batasang Pambansa shall be received and given due course.
Governing rules and implementing authority
- The election shall be conducted and supervised by the Commission on Elections.
- The election shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of the Election Code of 1978 and other applicable laws not inconsistent with this Act.
- The Commission on Elections shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement this Act.
Separability and election-specific effectivity
- If any section or provision of this Act, or its application to any person, group, or circumstance, is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or its application to other persons, groups, or circumstances shall not be affected.
- This Act takes effect upon approval and applies only to the Presidential election of 1981.
- In case of conflict or inconsistency with other laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof, the provisions of this Act shall prevail.
Appropriations and reimbursement of teachers
- The cost of the election shall be charged to the appropriations of the Commission on Elections authorized for the purpose in the current General Appropriations Act.
- If there is deficiency, appropriations may be augmented from the special activities fund intended for special priority activities currently authorized in the General Appropriations Act.
- Subject to accounting rules and regulations, the Commission on Elections shall prescribe procedures and requirements for reimbursement of actual expenses incurred by public school teachers in connection with their duties as chairmen and members of the Citizens Election Committees.
- Reimbursements for authorized expenses shall be chargeable to the appropriations provided for the election.
Approval date
- This Act was approved on April 20, 1981.