Electric Cooperative District Election Guidelines

Legal basis, policy, and effectivity

The guidelines are issued pursuant to PD No. 269, as amended by PD No. 1645 and Republic Act No. 10531 (Section 56).
The guidelines establish that director and officer qualification determinations consider integrity, experience, education, competence and probity under Section 26-B of PD 269, as amended by RA 10531 (Section 7).
The guidelines take effect 15 days after filing with the U.P. Law Center or publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation (Section 59).
Transitory effect: nothing in the guidelines abrogates term limits set in the previous Guidelines on EC District Elections (Section 57).

Core definitions and key terms

“Voter” means a bonafide member-consumer who has all qualifications to vote (Section 2.3).
“Resident” means a bonafide member of a district who has been residing therein for not less than one (1) year immediately preceding the elections (Section 2.4).
“Juridical person” means any firm, corporation, association or local government unit (Section 2.5).
“Joint Membership” refers to a husband and wife who apply for joint membership and avail services subject to compliance with the EC by-laws (Section 2.6).
“Member-Consumer” refers to a person (natural or juridical) adhering to PD 269 (as amended by PD 1645 and RA 10531) and to the EC Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws (Section 2.7).
“Master list of Member-Consumers” is a roster showing, among others, membership certificate/receipt number, membership status (single/joint/juridical), and date and resolution number of approval (Section 2.8).
“Voting Center” and “Election Precinct” identify the designated place for election conduct and the precinct registration/casting area within the voting center (Sections 2.9–2.10).
“Screening Committee (SC)” is composed of specified managers, with Member Services/Institutional Services Department Manager as Chairman, to review records and screen candidate qualifications (Section 2.11).
“District Election Committee (DECOM)” is a three (3)-member body that exercises supervision and control of district election conduct (Section 2.12).
“Precinct Election Committee (PECOM)” is a three (3)-member body deputized by DECOM for precinct registration and voting (Section 2.13).

Elections: dates, calls, and failure rules

The Board of Directors must call, schedule, and appropriate for a regular district election through a Board Resolution passed not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days before the Annual Meeting as provided in the by-laws (Section 3).
A copy of the regular-election resolution must be submitted to NEA within 2 weeks after the Board Meeting (Section 3).
Elections for districts whose directors’ terms expire must be held in not less than (30) days but not more than sixty (60) days before the Annual Meeting, with the 30-day period reckoned from the date of the last elections scheduled for the year (Section 3.1).
A Special Election must be called by Board resolution to fill a vacancy due to death, incapacity, resignation, disqualification, and other similar causes when the unexpired term is two (2) years or more (Section 3.2).
In a special election where the unexpired term is two (2) years or more, the elected director serves only the unexpired portion of the term (Section 3.2).
When the remaining term is less than two (2) years, the Board must, by majority vote, appoint a successor from among nominees submitted by the Multi-Sectoral Electrification Advisory Council (MSEAC) or designate a caretaker from among incumbent directors’ board members or a NEA-designated independent director (Section 3.2).
The Board must pass the resolution calling the special election not later than five (5) days after the vacancy occurs, with the election held not less than twenty-five (25) days but not more than thirty-five (35) days after the vacancy (Section 3.3).
The same Master List of Member-Consumers used in the immediately preceding regular election applies for special elections (Sections 3.3 and 4).
The by-laws may provide staggered terms where each year half, one-third, or a number near thereto is elected for two-year or three-year terms (Section 3.4).

Postponement and election failure handling

When serious causes such as violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, and force majeure make a free, honest, and orderly election impossible, DECOM may postpone the election in the affected district (Section 4).
Postponement decisions must be affirmed by the NEA representative, if any, supervising the actual conduct of election (Section 4).
Postponement must not exceed twenty (20) days, within which the Board, with NEA confirmation, must reset the election (Section 4).
Rescheduling must be covered by prescriptive periods for posting/sending notices and for additional Certificates of Candidacy, if any, under Sections 6 and 12 (Section 4).
The rescheduled election must be supervised by the same District and Precinct Election Committee members unless they withdraw; withdrawn members’ alternates replace them, otherwise NEA appoints new DECOM members (Section 4).
A postponed election must use the same Master List (Section 4).
If the Board fails or refuses to call and hold an election as mandated by the by-laws or Section 3, NEA may call and conduct the election for and in behalf of the cooperative (Section 5).
An election is deemed a failure of election if the total number of Member-Consumers registered in the required form fails to meet quorum of one hundred (100) or five per centum (5%), whichever is less (Section 5).
When an election fails (except for lone-candidate rules), the Board must schedule another election not more than thirty (30) days after the failed election (Section 5).
When there is a lone candidate, one vote suffices (Section 5).

Notice, candidacy, screening, and challenges

For regular elections, written notices stating purpose, place, date, time, and the deadline for filing Certificates of Candidacy must be posted in strategic places in the voting district not less than twenty (20) days before election day (Section 6).
The same written notice must be delivered personally, by mail, or through e-mail to each member of the concerned DECOM, and print/broadcast media may be used if necessary (Section 6).
Director and officer candidates are evaluated using integrity, experience, education, competence and probity under Section 26-B of PD 269, as amended by RA 10531 (Section 7).
Minimum qualifications include:
- Filipino citizenship (Section 7.1);
- Graduate of a four (4)-year course (Section 7.2);
- Age between twenty-one (21) and seventy (70) on election date (Section 7.3);
- Good moral character, established via clearance/certificate from the Barangay where the candidate resides, NBI, PNP, or leader of the religious sect (Section 7.4 and subparagraphs);
- Membership in the EC in good standing for the last five (5) years immediately preceding election/appointment and continuing in good standing during incumbency (Section 7.5);
- No apprehension for electric pilferage, where “apprehension” is in the strict context of being caught in flagrante delicto violating RA 7832 (Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines or Materials Pilferage Act of 1994) (Section 7.6);
- Not removed for cause as director or employee from any EC, and disqualification applies to a former director/employee with removal for cause or just cause under Article 282 of the Labor Code as amended (Section 7.7);
- Actual resident and member-consumer in the district for at least two (2) years immediately preceding the election (Section 7.8);
- Attendance in at least two (2) AGMA for the last five (5) years immediately preceding election/appointment (Section 7.9);
- For qualified government employees, a written Certification from the Department Secretary/Regional Director/Local Chief Executive (or authorized representative) allowing candidacy at filing time (Section 7.10);
- Continued possession of qualifications and no disqualifications throughout the term, and no EC director may remain in hold-over capacity if he/she fails to meet qualifications or is disqualified (Section 7.11).
“Member of good standing” requires no unsettled or outstanding EC obligations during membership, where an “unsettled or outstanding obligation” is unpaid within seven (7) days after due date, with “due date” for power bills being the ninth (9th) day reckoned from receipt; incumbent re-election applicants’ unsettled or outstanding includes power bills, cash advances, disallowances (including NEA audit findings), and materials and equipment issuances, and the director must be free from unsettled/outstanding indebtedness and/or disallowances at any given time (Section 7.5.1–7.5.2).
Disqualifications make a person ineligible to be elected or appointed to an EC Board or as officer if any of the following exist:
- Person or spouse holds any public office, and a person holding an elective or appointive position with salary grade of sixteen (SG 16) or higher or equivalent is ineligible (Section 8.1);
- Person or spouse was a candidate in the last preceding local or national elections (Section 8.2);
- Conviction by final judgment for a crime involving moral turpitude (Section 8.3);
- Termination from public office/government employment or private employment for just cause under Article 282; termination from public office means removal (Section 8.4);
- Relationship within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to specified key persons (Board members, General Manager, Department Manager, NEA-appointed Project Supervisor, Acting General Manager, and equivalent or higher positions) (Section 8.5);
- Employment by or financial interest in a competing enterprise or business selling electric energy or electrical hardware to the cooperative or doing business with the EC, including but not limited to use/rental of poles; “doing business” covers transactions affecting EC management and operation (Section 8.6);
- Incumbent GM and employees of electric cooperatives are not allowed to run as board members of another cooperative (Section 8.7);
- Disqualification of one spouse means disqualification of the other (Section 8.8).
A representative of a juridical person is ineligible as a Board member candidate, but the juridical person is entitled to only one (1) vote (Section 9).
The one member one vote policy grants each Member-Consumer only one vote regardless of number of connections; for joint membership, only one member votes (Section 10).
No qualified member may be elected unless a verified Certificate of Candidacy is filed (Section 11).
Candidates must secure official forms from the Institutional Services Department, accomplish them, and file the Certificate and required documents at the cooperative office during office hours not later than ten (10) days before the election, through the Member Services or Institutional Services Department Manager (Section 12).
Screening procedures require:
- Candidates acknowledge receipt of the form/Certificate from duly authorized ISD personnel (Section 13.1.1);
- Submission of a duly Sworn Certificate of Candidacy in three (3) copies with required attachments under Sections 7 and 8 and ISD acknowledgement in a control book (Sections 13.1.2–13.1.3);
- SC reviews records including membership approval date, consumer electric service status, outstanding accountabilities/delinquency amounts and dates, disconnection/apprehension date and causes, residency, criminal/administrative records if any, and other guideline requirements (Section 13.2.1);
- SC prepares and officially informs all applicants of the certified list of candidates not less than seven (7) days before the election (Section 13.2.2);
- Protests from disqualification must be filed with the SC not less than five (5) days before election; SC decides within 48 hours from receipt; SC decision is final; failure to file within period is waiver (Section 13.2.3).
Appeals from SC decisions are governed by:
- Appeal lies to the NEA Deputy Administrator for EDUS (Section 13.3.1);
- An appeal must be filed within an inextendible period of twenty-four (24) hours from receipt of SC decision/resolution, by personal service as far as practicable, in five (5) legible copies (Section 13.3.2);
- The appellant must furnish the SC and all opposing parties/candidates who may be affected (Section 13.3.2.1);
- Non-inclusion of necessary/indispensable party is a ground for dismissal motu proprio or on motion (Section 13.3.2.2);
- Upon receipt, the SC forwards original/complete records to NEA Deputy Administrator for EDUS to ensure receipt within 48 hours (Section 13.3.2.3);
- The petition must state names of parties, material dates, facts, grounds, and arguments (Section 13.3.3);
- Only the grounds for appeal are patently erroneous findings of facts or patently erroneous conclusions of law (Section 13.3.4);
- Appellees have an inextendible 24 hours from receipt to file an Answer and furnish appellant a copy by personal service (Section 13.3.5);
- After receipt of all pleadings, the petition is deemed submitted for decision (Section 13.3.6).
Provisional relief may be issued by the Deputy Administrator for EDUS in purely meritorious cases to prevent the appeal from becoming moot (Section 13.3.7).
The Deputy Administrator for EDUS decision is final and executory unless reversed and/or modified by the Administrator (Section 13.3.8).
The appellant must pay a filing fee of PhP10,000.00 simultaneously with filing the Verified Petition; the EC transmits the amount to NEA (Section 13.3.9).
SC must post the list of qualified candidates in at least five (5) conspicuous places three (3) days before the election (Section 13.4).
A Certificate of Candidacy filed cannot be withdrawn/cancelled unless the candidate files a sworn statement of withdrawal/cancellation with the SC at least one (1) day before the election (Section 14).

Terms of office and candidate prohibitions

Regularly elected directors have a three (3)-year term and are entitled to only two (2) consecutive re-elections (Section 15.1).
A director elected in a special election under Section 3(3.2.), or in a postponed regular election conducted after the Annual Meeting date of the year in process, takes the Oath of Office immediately after proclamation and serves until the Annual Meeting date of the year covering the unexpired portion (Section 15.2).
A board member considered resigned under NEA Memo No. 2012-016 dated 06 July 2012 (and amendments, if applicable) cannot be re-appointed by the Board to serve the unexpired portion of the term (Section 15.3).
A director who has completed consecutive terms or equivalent tenure of nine (9) years is no longer eligible for appointment to a board vacancy under Section 3(3.2.) (Section 15.4).
Candidates are prohibited from:
- Paying for prospective members’ membership fees (Section 16.1);
- Vote-buying (Section 16.2);
- Entering within a 30-meter perimeter of the voting center before and/or after casting the vote; candidates may enter the perimeter only to cast the vote (Section 16.3);
- Using goons or similar elements to harass voters (Section 16.4).
Any prohibited act under Section 16 constitutes sufficient ground for disqualification (Section 16).

Watchers, voters, registration, and master list rules

Each official candidate is entitled to one (1) watcher in every precinct (Section 17).
Watchers must be bona fide member-consumers of good reputation and must not be related to the PECOM chairman or any Member of PECOM within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity in the precinct (Section 17).
Candidate watchers are appointed in writing by the candidate and acknowledged by DECOM (Section 17).
Watchers may present the appointment to the PECOM chairman upon entering the voting center, stay in reserved space, witness proceedings, take note of results after completion, and certify election results with PECOM (Section 18).
Only member-consumers whose Board-approved membership application is not later than ninety (90) days before the first district election scheduled for a particular year are included in the master list and may vote (Section 19).
The Master List must be prepared in no less than twenty-five (25) days before election, with at least ten (10) copies per district, listing qualified member-consumers alphabetically and classified by districts, municipalities, and barangays (Section 20).
The master list must be verified by ISD Manager, validated by the Internal Auditor, and certified by the Board Secretary or authorized representative (Section 20).
For verification, at least five (5) copies must be posted in conspicuous places during an inclusion/exclusion period with a verification period of not more than twenty (20) nor less than ten (10) days before the election (Section 20).
Disagreements must be filed in writing with Member Services/Institutional Services Department for evaluation based on submitted documents (Section 20).
The final master list must again be posted not less than five (5) days before election (Section 20).
Copies of the master list must also be distributed as follows: one (1) copy for the district elections location, one (1) copy per precinct, and one (1) copy for EC files (Section 20).
Candidates may receive master list copies only upon payment of the cost of reproduction (Section 20).
If a member’s name is inadvertently excluded but the member fails to use inclusion/exclusion remedies during that period, the member is not allowed to vote, and failure to use remedies is a waiver of voting right (Section 21).
All members whose names appear in the master list must register with PECOM on election day; only those duly registered may vote (Section 22).

Voting centers, precincts, ballots, and vote casting

Voting centers must be established within the district where election is scheduled; when the district has two (2) or more municipalities, there must be at least one (1) voting center in each municipality, located as far as practicable in a public school building or other public buildings within the poblacion (Section 23).
When increasing Member-Consumer numbers warrant, DECOM may authorize additional voting centers, specifying barangays/areas covered, based on accessibility and convenience to assure widest participation (Section 24).
Member Services Department, in consultation with DECOM, establishes precincts for each voting center for registration and voting, dependent on Member-Consumers’ number and classified according to residence (Section 25).
Each precinct must have ballot boxes under custody and disposal of DECOM and PECOM (Section 26).
A tally board listing candidate names and recording votes must be placed in plain view at the beginning of counting in each precinct (Section 27).
The cooperative must prepare and furnish DECOM ballot boxes, forms, and all other election materials required for the electoral process (Section 28).
Voting hours run from 8 o’clock in the morning to 3 o’clock in the afternoon, except where Member-Consumers are within 30 meters radius from the precinct at closing time and have not yet registered and cast votes; in such case, voting continues only to allow them to register and vote (Section 37).
PECOM must convene at the precinct designated by DECOM, receive the certified member-consumer list, ballot boxes, and materials (Section 38.1).
PECOM must open ballot boxes, empty both compartments, exhibit emptiness to public, then lock the box (Section 38.2).
The box remains locked until voting finishes; the chairman may open it in the presence of committee members and watchers if more ballots must fit, pressing contained ballots without removing any, then closing and locking again (Section 38.3).
After registration and identity verification, voters are given an official ballot to accomplish; proxy voting is not allowed (Section 39).
Only election committee members, watchers, NEA representatives, and member-consumers about to cast votes are allowed inside the precinct; the committee limits numbers to prevent crowding, watchers must stay only in reserved space, and it is unlawful for watchers to enter member-consumer or watcher-reserved places, or talk/mingle with member-consumers in the precinct (Section 40).
Voters must fill the ballot by writing the candidate name in the proper space; voters must not compare entries or speak to anyone while filling; voters must not exhibit ballot contents to any person (Section 41).
A voter physically unable to fill may be assisted by any election committee member or by an NEA or EC representative (Section 42).
Spoiled ballots must be surrendered folded to the chairman, who records “spoiled” in the voting record; the voter is entitled to another ballot after serial number recording in voting records (Section 43).
To cast a ballot, the voter folds it, affixes thumb mark in the ballot stub space, and delivers folded ballot to chairman; the chairman verifies the ballot number from voting records without unfolding or looking at contents, then detaches stub in presence of committee and watchers; the voter deposits folded ballot in the valid votes compartment and detached stub in the stub compartment, and then leaves (Section 44).
Watchers may challenge any person for using another’s name to register and vote; the PECOM requires evidence and en banc decides based on evidence; challenges and identity contests must be filed and recorded in voting minutes before a challenged voter is allowed to vote (Section 45).
PECOM must prepare and sign a voting and counting statement in four (4) copies, including: voting start/end time, ballots received/used/unused, number of voters voting, number of challenged voters, watchers present, counting start/end time, official ballots inside valid ballot compartment, excess ballots vs register, valid ballots retrieved from stub compartment, number of ballots read and counted, and record of protest/action (Section 46).
Official ballots must be uniform in size and color, printed at cooperative expense under Member Services Manager supervision; ballots are strips with detachable stubs bearing consecutive serial numbers; they show the cooperative name and the word “Official Ballot”, and provide space to write the voted candidate name beneath a horizontal line (Section 36).

Public counting, tie resolution, returns, and proclamation

After voting, PECOM must publicly count votes in precincts and ascertain results; PECOM cannot adjourn or postpone counting until fully completed, though DECOM may postpone counting due to intervening events such as calamity, force majeure, or terrorism (Section 47).
Tie vote resolution requires DECOM, within five (5) days after elections, to resolve the tie in the presence of tied top candidates, preferably through a term sharing scheme with candidates’ consent; absent consent, DECOM must finally break the tie immediately then and there by coin toss or drawing of lots at DECOM’s option (Section 47).
The tie-break winner is proclaimed and may assume office as if elected by plurality votes; DECOM’s choice of tie-break method is final and not subject to appeal (Section 47).
Counting procedure requires PECOM to separate ballots into piles of fifty (50), with rubber bands; the chairman reads candidate names one by one so watchers can verify; poll clerk and third member record votes on election returns and tally board; after reading, PECOM sums totals on tally board and election returns and then seals and signs ballots in an envelope (Section 48).
Ballot appreciation rules require the following counting/adjudication outcomes:
- First name only or surname only is valid if no other candidate has the same first name or surname (Section 49.1);
- A single word that is both first name of one candidate and surname of another counts for the latter (Section 49.2);
- Two words consisting of one first name and one surname for different candidates results in no count for either (Section 49.3);
- Misspelling or sound-alike initial/surname when read as similar to correct name counts for the correct candidate (Section 49.4);
- If the candidate name is not written in the provided space, the vote counts for the candidate (Section 49.5);
- Erasure of one entry and clearly written substitution in a ballot space counts for the latter (Section 49.6);
- Prefixes/suffixes do