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I. Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) | The Philippine Online Chronicles

I. Board of Election Inspectors (BEI)

Written by Administrator

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 - Last Updated on April 27, 2010

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A. Appointment, Quali cations, Vacancies

1. Who appoints the BEI?
The COMELEC, directly or through its Election O cer,21 appoints a BEI for each precinct.22

2. What is the composition of a BEI?

The BEI is selected from the list of all public school teachers submitted by the Department
of Educations (DepEd) highest o cial within the city/municipality/school district.23 Public
school teachers with permanent appointments and those who served in the immediately
preceding national and Local Elections shall be preferred.24
It is composed of a Chairman and two (2) members, where one of the members shall be
designated as the poll clerk.

3. Can persons other than public school teachers be appointed as BEI members?
Yes. When there are not enough public school teachers, the following may be appointed as
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BEI members:
a. teachers in private schools;
b. employees in the civil service; or
c. citizens of known probity and competence who are registered voters of the city or
municipality.
In all cases, however, the BEI Chairman must be a public school teacher.25

4. What quali cations must be met in order for a person to be appointed as BEI member?
No person shall be appointed as BEI Chairman or member, whether regular, substitute or
temporary, unless he/she:
a. is of good moral character and irreproachable reputation;
b. is a registered voter of the city or municipality;
c. has never been convicted of any election o ense or of any other crime punishable
by more than six (6) months of imprisonment;
d. has no pending case against him led in COMELEC/court for any election o ense;
and
e. is able to speak and write English or the local dialect.26

5. Can a duly constituted BEI composed of public school teachers be replaced with military
personnel by agreement of political parties and candidates?
No. In Cawasa v. COMELEC, the Supreme Court held that the bare assertionthat the
political parties and municipal candidates agreed on the said arrangement provides no
legal basis for replacing a duly constituted BEI composed of public school teachers with
military personnel.27

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6. Could a member of the BEI be relieved of his/her duties and replaced by another?
Public school teachers who are BEI members shall not be relieved or disquali ed from
acting as such members, except for cause and after due hearing.28
7. Who are disquali ed from being BEI members?
The following are disquali ed from being BEI members:
a. A person who is related within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or a nity to
any member of the same BEI or to any candidate to be voted for or to the candidates
spouse; and
b. A person who is married to someone who is related within the fourth civil degree of
consanguinity or a nity to any member of the same BEI or to any candidate to be
voted for or to the candidates spouse.29

8. What should the disquali ed BEI Chairman or member do?

He/she shall immediately notify the Election O cer of his or her disquali cation in writing.
The Election O cer shall, in turn, appoint a substitute.30

9. What must be done before the BEI Chairman and members assume o ce?
The Election O cer must accomplish the form for the Appointment of the Chairman and
Members of the BEI (Election Form No. A5) in three (3) copies and require the Chairman and
BEI members to a x their signatures and imprints of their right thumbs on the Oath of
O ce (Election Form No. A5A) before him before assumption of o ce.31

10. How are temporary vacancies in the BEI lled?

In case a BEI member is absent or a vacancy exists, the members present shall call upon a
substitute from the list of public school teachers submitted by the DepEd to perform the
duties of the absent member.

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If none is available, the members present shall appoint any quali ed nonpartisan
registered voter of the precinct to temporarily ll the vacancy until the absent member
appears. In case there are two members present, they shall act jointly.32

11. Under what circumstances may a BEI member order the arrest of absent members?
BEI members may order the arrest of any member who, in their judgment, has absented
himself with the intention of obstructing the performance of the duties of the BEI.33

B. Functions and Responsibilities

12. What are the powers and functions of the BEI?
The BEI shall have the following powers and functions:
a. Conduct the voting in the polling place and administer the electronic counting of
votes;
b. Print the election returns and transmit electronically the election results, through
the use of the PCOS machines, to the City/Municipal Board of Canvassers (BOC), the
dominant majority party, dominant minority party, accredited citizens arm and KBP,
and to the central server.
c. Act as deputies of the COMELEC in the conduct of the elections;
d. Maintain order within the polling place and its premises; keep access thereto open
and unobstructed; and enforce obedience to its lawful orders. It shall prohibit the use
of cellular phones and cameras by the voters.
If any person refuses to obey the lawful orders of the BEI or conducts himself in a
disorderly manner in its presence or within its hearing and thereby interrupts or
disturbs its proceedings, the BEI may issue an order in writing directing any peace
o cer to take said person into custody until the adjournment of the meeting, but such
order shall not be executed as to prevent said person from voting. A copy of the
written order shall be attached to the Minutes.
e. Perform such other functions as may be prescribed by law or by the rules and
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regulations promulgated by the COMELEC.34

13. What are the BEIs responsibilities with respect to the keeping of the Minutes of Voting
and Counting of Votes (Minutes)?
The BEI shall enter in the Minutes (Election Form No. A11), the act or data required as they
occur or become available during voting, counting, and transmission of votes. Copies shall
be sealed in separate envelopes and distributed to35:

1st Copy

2nd Copy

delivered to Election O cer who

deposited inside the

shall transmit it to the Election

compartment of the ballot box.

Records and Statistics Department

(ERSD)

14. How are the proceedings of the BEI to be conducted?

The me
eting of the BEI shall be public and shall be held in the polling place designated by the
COMELEC.36
The BEI shall act through its Chairman and shall decide by majority vote, without delay, all
questions which may arise in the performance of its duties.37

15. Are BEI members allowed to vote?

Yes. There are two (2) options available to BEI members (including their substitutes) who
are registered voters in a precinct other than where they are assigned:
a. avail of the Local Absentee Voting, or
b. on the day of the elections, vote in the precincts where they are registered, provided
that they do so when the voting in their respective places of assignment is light, and
their absence shall not be for more than thirty (30) minutes.38
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They shall schedule their voting so that only one BEI member shall leave at any one time.39

16. Are BEI members allowed to engage in partisan political activity?

No. No BEI member or support sta shall engage in any partisan political activity or take
part in the election except to discharge his duties as such and to vote.40

17. Are BEI members allowed to make announcements tending to show the state of the
polls while voting is ongoing?
No. During the voting, any BEI member shall NOT make any announcement as to:
a. whether a certain registered voter has already voted or not;
b. how many have already voted or how many so far have failed to vote or any other
fact tending to show or showing the state of the polls; and
c. how many persons voted, except as witness before a court or body.41

18. What are the BEIs duties with respect to election forms, documents, and supplies?
The BEI shall:
a. carefully check the di erent election forms, documents and supplies and the
quantity actually received; and
b. sign a Certi cate of Receipt in three (3) copies, the original of which shall be
delivered to the City/Municipal Treasurer, who shall transmit the same to the ERSD,
COMELEC, Manila, immediately after election day.42

19. What are the obligations of BEI on election day?

Please see:
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item IV on PreVoting Procedures on Election Day for procedures to be followed

BEFORE voting begins
item V on Casting of Votes for procedures to be followed DURING the voting
process, and
item VII on Election Returns on the procedures to be followed AFTER the voting.

21 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 1 (1).

22 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 164.
23 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 1 (1).
24 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March, 2010), Section 1 (2).
25 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 1 (4).

26 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 166; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 2.
27 Cawasa v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 150469, 3 July 2002.
28 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 170; Cawasa v. Comelec, G.R. No. 150469, 3 July 2002.
29 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 167; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 3.
30 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 4.

31 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 165; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 7.
32 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 5.
33 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 177; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 6.

34 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Sections 168 & 172; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 10.
35 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 8.
36 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 172; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 11.
37 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 174; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 11 (2).
38 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), as revised by COMELEC Resolution No. 8798 (16 March 2010),
Section 12.
39 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 12.

40 Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (1985), Section 173; COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 13.
41 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 33.
42 COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 (4 March 2010), Section 18.

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