Plebiscite for 1973 Philippine Constitution

Constitutional basis and plebiscite date

The plebiscite is held to submit the proposed Constitution to the Filipino people for ratification or rejection.
The plebiscite is scheduled on January 15, 1973.
The submission is conducted in accordance with Article XV of the present Constitution, which provides validity upon approval by a majority of the votes cast at the election where submitted for ratification.
The entire plebiscite is implemented under Presidential Decree No. 73 and related election rules, with specific modifications stated therein.

Publication and dissemination requirements

The proposed Constitution must be published in full in English and Pilipino, with Pilipino translation done by the Institute of National Language.
Publication must occur once in the Official Gazette and in three issues of at least two newspapers of national circulation.
Publication must be completed not later than two weeks before the plebiscite.
Printed copies must be posted in each provincial city, municipal, and municipal district government building and in at least two other conspicuous places in each city, municipality, or municipal district at least thirty days before the plebiscite.
Printed copies must also be posted in a conspicuous place in each polling place at least fifteen days before the plebiscite and must remain posted until after the plebiscite.
At each polling place, at least five copies of the Constitution must be kept available for examination by qualified voters during plebiscite day.
Whenever practicable, copies must also be kept in the principal local dialects, as determined by the Commission on Elections.
The Department of Public Information must distribute printed copies to all government offices, agencies, and instrumentalities, including national, provincial, city, municipal, municipal district and barrio governments.
The Department of Public Information must also distribute copies to civic, religious, educational, business, labor and trade organizations or institutions, and must disseminate full information through all forms of mass communication.

Freedom of discussion and limits

The people must be fully informed and enlightened on the provisions of the proposed Constitution.
The people may discuss the proposed Constitution freely and publicly to enable intelligent voting for ratification or rejection.
Discussion must be limited to the proposed Constitution and must not in any manner tend to cause disorder or endanger the security of the State.

Election code application and party/candidate rules

The plebiscite is governed by the Election Code of 1971 to the extent its provisions are not inconsistent with Presidential Decree No. 73.
Provisions of the Election Code of 1971 regarding rights and obligations of political parties and candidates do not apply to the plebiscite.

Plebiscite calendar, voter registration, and court finality

The periods and dates for pre-plebiscite acts are those in the Plebiscite Calendar appended to Presidential Decree No. 73.
If insurmountable difficulties prevent observing any period or date, the Commission on Elections must fix another period or date so voters are not deprived of suffrage.
The Commission on Elections must also fix periods or dates for other pre-plebiscite acts not included in the calendar.
A qualified voter not registered in the permanent list of voters must register with the city, municipality, or municipal district where the voter is a resident, on any day including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, during the hours 8:00 o'clock to 12:00 o'clock in the morning and 1:00 o'clock to 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon, and not later than the date indicated in the calendar.
Voter registration is not conducted before the board of inspectors.
All election registration boards as presently constituted continue to act in connection with voter registration for the plebiscite.
If action on an application is unduly delayed due to failure or refusal of any member (other than the election registrar) after due notice, or if there is a vacancy, the election registrar may designate any other teacher or registered voter of the city, municipality, or municipal district to act in place of the absent member or to fill the vacancy, subject to Section 106 of the Election Code of 1971.
Decisions of the courts of first instance, city courts, and municipal courts of the provincial capitals in inclusion and exclusion cases are final and immediately executory.

Current voters list and posting rules

The board of inspectors must meet at their polling places on the second Saturday before plebiscite day from seven o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the afternoon to prepare and certify three copies of the current list of voters by transferring names from existing precinct books.
Before seven o'clock in the morning of that day, the election registrar must deliver the precinct books to the chairman of the board of inspectors, who retains custody until returned to the election registrar after the plebiscite.
After preparing the current list, the board must close and seal the precinct books and certify that the approved applications contained therein, stating the exact number, are complete for the precinct.
The chairman must ensure precinct books remain closed and sealed until opened for use on plebiscite day.
The poll clerk must post a copy of the current list in a secure and conspicuous place at or near the polling place door for consultation by interested parties before leaving the polling place.
At the first hour of the working day following preparation, the poll clerk must deliver a certified copy to the election registrar, who must keep it open to public inspection during regular office hours.
The chairman of the board must retain a copy of the current list for public inspection in the chairman’s residence or office during regular office hours.

Board of inspectors, watchers, and polling setup

Not later than twenty days before plebiscite day, the Commission on Elections appoints a board of inspectors for each election precinct composed of a chairman and two members, one of whom is designated concurrently as poll clerk.
All board members must be public school teachers, with preference for civil service eligibles in service for more than five years and who are registered voters of the city, municipality, or municipal district.
If public school teachers are unavailable, the Commission may appoint private school teachers, or any civil service officer or employee who is a registered voter, to fill vacancies.
If substitutes are not available, the Commission may appoint any registered voter of the precinct to fill vacancies.
Public school teachers appointed as board members and their substitutes may vote in their precincts on plebiscite day if they are qualified voters where assigned and if, before precinct books are closed and sealed, their approved registration applications are transferred to their assigned precincts as board members under Commission rules.
If deteriorating peace and order conditions prevent public school teachers and substitutes from discharging duties, the Commission may appoint ROTC cadets who are at least 21 years of age as board members.
Board of inspectors members must receive the same rates of pay for services as those provided in the Election Code of 1971.
The Commission on Elections may designate in each polling place, on recommendation of civic groups, not more than six watchers.
Watchers must be of good reputation, must not have been convicted of any offense, and must not have pending against them any complaint or information for any election offense.
Watchers have the same rights and duties as those provided in the Election Code for watchers.
Election precincts established in the last election continue with adjustments, changes, or new divisions as the Commission finds necessary.
Precinct maps required by Section 84 of the Election Code are deemed sufficiently published when the Commission posts copies in the city, municipality, or municipal government building and in three other conspicuous places within the city, municipality, or municipal district.
Polling places from the preceding election continue with changes as the Commission may find necessary, provided each polling place has at least three voting booths.

Ballots, voting, and official ballot supply

The official ballot must be printed in English and in the form and size prescribed by the Commission on Elections.
The ballot must include: the seal designation, the municipality and province, the date January 15, 1973, and the plebiscite designation.
The ballot must instruct voters to fill out the ballot secretly inside the booth and not to put any distinctive mark in any part of the ballot.
The ballot must present the question whether the voter approves the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines proposed by the 1971 Constitutional Convention on November 30, 1972, for ratification or rejection.
To vote for ratification, the voter must write "YES" or its equivalent in Filipino or local dialect in the blank after the question.
To vote for rejection, the voter must write "NO" or its equivalent in Pilipino or local dialect.
The official ballots may be printed by letterpress or offset printing.
Ballots must be bound in separate books of one-hundred ballots each.
Each city, municipality, and municipal district must be furnished official ballots at the rate of one and one-tenth ballots for every registered voter in the next preceding election.

Returns, canvass, and proclamation timetable

The board of inspectors must prepare and sign four copies of the plebiscite returns on a form prescribed by the Commission on Elections.
One copy must be deposited inside the ballot box.
One copy each must be delivered personally by the board to the election registrar and to the city, municipal or municipal district treasurer.
The original copy must be transmitted to the Commission on Elections in the manner it directs.
At six o'clock in the afternoon of plebiscite day, the city, municipal, or municipal district board of canvassers must meet to canvass returns for its locality.
The city, municipal, or municipal district treasurer must produce the returns already received from different precincts before the board.
The board must canvass continuously until all returns are read, may suspend only while awaiting other returns, and must resume immediately upon receipt.
After completion, the board must prepare and sign a certificate of canvass showing votes cast for "YES" and votes cast for "NO", supported by a precinct-by-precinct statement of votes.
The certificate and supporting statement must be prepared and signed by the board in triplicate in one writing in the form prescribed by the Commission on Elections.
The certificate and statement copies must be enclosed in envelopes furnished by the Commission on Elections and distributed as follows: the original to the Commission on Elections, the second to the Provincial Treasurer for safekeeping, and the third to be kept on file in the treasurer’s office.
Board of canvassers members receive a fixed compensation of thirty pesos for actual services rendered.
Upon recommendation of civic, religious and educational organizations, the Commission may appoint three watchers to be present at, and take note of, board of canvassers proceedings.
These watchers may read the plebiscite returns without touching them and may file a protest against irregularities and obtain from the board a written resolution thereon.
Within one week after holding the plebiscite, the Commission on Elections must commence a public canvass of votes certified by the locality boards and thereafter proclaim the result.
If certificates of canvass are missing and missing votes will not affect the plebiscite result, the Commission on Elections may terminate the canvass and proclaim the result based on available certificates of canvass.

Procurement, implementing rules, and appropriation

The Commission on Elections may procure supplies, materials, or services needed for the plebiscite either by negotiation or through sealed quotations if public bidding is impracticable to observe.
The Commission on Elections must promulgate the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 73.
Presidential Decree No. 73 appropriates fifteen million (P15,000,000) pesos from any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated to carry out the purposes of the Decree.
The appropriation is available for payment of plebiscite expenses incurred before promulgation.
The appropriation is available for expenditure after June 30, 1973, until all plebiscite expenses are paid.

Repeal, separability, and sunset

Presidential Decree No. 73 provides for immediate effectivity upon promulgation.
The Decree does not include any separability clause, repealing clause, or sunset clause governing its operation.