What law is amended and how
- Section 70 of Chapter 5, Title One, Book I of Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991) is amended to govern initiation of recall.
- Section 71 of Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991) is amended to govern election on recall.
- Republic Act No. 9244 removes the Preparatory Recall Assembly as a mode of instituting recall of elective local officials by providing for dismissal of pending recall petitions started through it (Section 3).
Initiating recall: who files and when
- Recall of any elective provincial, city, municipal, or barangay official is commenced by a petition of a registered voter in the local government unit concerned and supported by registered voters in the same local government unit during the election in which the local official sought to be recalled was elected (Section 70).
- A recall petition must satisfy a percentage requirement based on voting population at the time of the covered election (Section 70):
- At least twenty-five percent (25%) if the voting population is not more than twenty thousand (20,000).
- At least twenty percent (20%) if the voting population is at least twenty thousand (20,000) but not more than seventy-five thousand (75,000).
- At least fifteen percent (15%) if the voting population is at least seventy-five thousand (75,000) but not more than three hundred thousand (300,000).
- At least ten percent (10%) if the voting population is over three hundred thousand (300,000).
- The Act imposes minimum petitioner counts in every tier (Section 70):
- For the 20% tier: in no case shall the required petitioners be less than five thousand (5,000).
- For the 15% tier: in no case shall the required number of petitioners be less than fifteen thousand (15,000).
- For the 10% tier: in no case shall the required petitioners be less than forty-five thousand (45,000).
Recall petition: content and filing
- A written petition for recall must be duly signed by the representatives of the petitioners before the election registrar or his representative and then filed with the COMELEC through its office in the local government unit concerned (Section 70).
- The recall petition must contain (Section 70):
- The names and addresses of the petitioners in legible form and their signatures.
- The barangay, city or municipality, local legislative district and the province to which the petitioners belong.
- The name of the official sought to be recalled.
- A brief narration of the reasons and justifications therefor.
COMELEC certification, publication, and signature verification
- The COMELEC must certify within fifteen (15) days from the filing of the petition the sufficiency of the required number of signatures; failure to obtain the required number of signatures automatically nullifies the petition (Section 70).
- If the petition is sufficient in form, the COMELEC or its duly authorized representative must, within three (3) days from the issuance of the certification, provide the recalled official a copy of the petition, and must then (Section 70):
- Cause publication in a national newspaper of general circulation and a newspaper of general circulation in the locality, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, at the expense of the petitioners.
- Post copies in public and conspicuous places for not less than ten (10) days nor more than twenty (20) days.
- The publication and posting are for the purpose of allowing interested parties to examine and verify the validity of the petition and the authenticity of the signatures (Section 70).
- Upon issuance of certification, the COMELEC (or its duly authorized representative) proceeds independently with the verification and authentication of signatures of petitioners and registered voters contained in the petition (Section 70).
- The representatives of the petitioners and the official sought to be recalled are duly notified and have the right to participate as mere observers in the verification and authentication (Section 70).
- A challenge or protest is allowed within the period provided in the paragraph covering examination and verification, and the COMELEC must rule with finality within fifteen (15) days from the date of filing of the protest or challenge (Section 70).
- After the lapse of the challenge/protest period, the COMELEC (or its duly authorized representative) must announce acceptance of candidates to the position and then prepare the list of candidates, including the name of the official sought to be recalled (Section 70).
Election on recall: timing and candidate status
- When a valid petition for recall is filed with the appropriate local office of the COMELEC, the COMELEC (or its duly authorized representative) must set the recall election date (Section 71).
- The recall election date must not be later than (Section 71):
- Thirty (30) days upon the completion of the procedure outlined in the preceding article for barangay, city or municipal officials; and
- Forty-five (45) days upon completion of the procedure for provincial officials.
- The officials sought to be recalled are automatically considered duly registered candidates for the pertinent positions and are entitled to be voted upon like other candidates (Section 71).
Effect on pending preparatory-recall petitions; repeal
- All pending petitions for recall initiated through the Preparatory Recall Assembly are considered dismissed upon the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9244 (Section 3).
- All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, issuances, and rules and regulations, and parts thereof, inconsistent with Republic Act No. 9244 are repealed or modified accordingly (Section 4).