ELECTION LAW

I. SUFFRAGE

1. SCOPE OF SUFFRAGE
1. Election – the means by which the people choose their officials for definite and fixed
periods and to whom they entrust, for the time being as their representatives, the exercise of
powers of the government.

2. Plebiscite – a vote of the people expressing their choice for or against a proposed law or
enactment submitted to them
 In the Philippines: it is applied to an election at which any proposed
amendment to, or revision of, the Constitution is submitted to the people for
ratification

 It is also required by the Constitution to secure the approval of the

people directly affected, before certain proposed affecting LGUs may be affected
3. Referendum – submission of a law passed by the national or local legislative body to
the registered voters at an election called for the purpose of their ratification or rejection

1. Mode for appealing from an elected body to the whole body of voters
4. Initiative – process whereby the registered voters directly propose, enact or amend laws,
national or local, through an election called for that purpose.

 Congress is mandated by the Constitution to provide a system of

initiative and referendum which have been declared as the “people
power” feature of the Constitution

a. Qualification of Suffrage: Section 1, Article V of the Philippine Constitution:“Suffrage may

be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least
eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in
the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election.
No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of
suffrage.”

Q. Who are Filipino citizens?

A. Under ARTICLE IV CITIZENSHIP, Section 1 of 1987 Philippine Constitution, the
following are citizens of the Philippines:
[1] Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this
 Constitution;
[2] Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
[3] Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine
citizenship upon reaching the age of majority; and
[4] Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

 RA 9225 (Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003 / Dual

Citizenship
Law)
- This declares that the former natural-born Filipino citizens who acquired foreign
citizenship through naturalization are deemed not to have lost their Philippine
citizenship under the conditions provided in the Act. Former Filipinos may reacquire
and retain their Philippine citizenship by taking the oath of allegiance to the Republic
of the Philippines

1. Any person who transfers residence to another city, municipality or country solely by reason of his
occupation, profession or employment in private or public service, education, etc., shall not be
deemed to have lost his original residence [Sec. 117, B.P 881],

2. In Makalintal v. Comelec, G.R. No. 157013, July 3, 2003, challenged as unconstitutional was Sec.
5(d) of R.A. 9189 (The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003), which provides that among those
disqualified to vote is an immigrant or a permanent resident (of another country) who is
recognized as such in the host country, unless he/she executes an affidavit declaring the he/ she
shall resume actual, physical, permanent residence in the Philippines not later than three years
from approval of his/her registration under the said Act, and that he/she had not applied for
citizenship in another country.. On this challenge, the Supreme Court said that inasmuch as the
essence of R.A. 9189 is to enfranchise overseas qualified Filipinos, the Court should take a
holistic view of the pertinent provisions of both the Constitution and R.A. 9189. The law was
enacted in obeisance to the mandate of the first paragraph of Sec. 2, Art. V of the Constitution,
that Congress shall provide a system for voting by qualified Filipinos abroad. It must be stressed
that Sec. 2 does not provide for the parameters of the exercise of legislative authority in enacting
said law. Hence, in the absence of restrictions, Congress is presumed to have duly exercised its
function as defined in Art. VI of the Constitution.
In this case, the Supreme Court continued by saying that contrary to the
claim of petitioner, the execution of the affidavit itself is not the enabling or
enfranchising act. The affidavit required is not only proof of the intention of the
immigrant or permanent resident to go back and resume residency in the
Philippines, but more significantly, it serves as an explicit expression that
he had not in fact abandoned his domicile of origin. It must be emphasized that
Sec. 5(d) does not only require an affidavit or a promise to “resume actual physical
permanent residence in the Philippines not later than three years from the approval
of his/her registration”, the Filipino abroad must also declare that they have not
applied for citizenship in another country. Thus, they must return to the Philippines
 otherwise, their failure to return “shall be cause for the removal” of their names
“from the National Registry of absentee voters and his/her permanent
disqualification to vote in absentia”.

b. DISQUALIFICATION OF VOTERS [Sec. 118, B.P. 881]:

Any person sentenced by final judgment to suffer imprisonment for not less than one year (unless
granted a plenary pardon or an amnesty); but right is reacquired upon the expiration of 5 years after
service of sentence.

Any person adjudged by final judgment of having committed any crime

involving disloyalty to the government or any crime against national security (unless restored to full
civil and political rights in accordance with law); but right is reacquired upon the expiration of 5
years after service of sentence.

 Insane or incompetent persons as declared by competent authority

c. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS (Miiiiids, pls read BP 881, thaaanks  )

 It shall be the duty of every citizen to register and cast his vote [Sec. 4, B.P. 881].

 In order that a qualified elector may vote in any election, plebiscite or referendum, he must be
registered in the Permanent List of Voters for the city or municipality in which he resides [Sec.
115, BP 881],

 Registration does not confer the right to vote; it is but a condition

precedent to the exercise of the right. Registration is a regulation, not a
qualification [Yra v. Abano, 52 Phil 380],

 General Registration of voters. Immediately after the barangay elections

in 1997, the existing certified list of voters shall cease to be effective and operative. For purposes
of the May 1998 elections and all elections, plebiscites, referenda, initiatives and recalls
subsequent thereto, the Comelec shall undertake a general registration of voters [Sec. 7, R.A.
8189 (The Voters Registration Act of 1996)].

 System of Continuing Registration. The personal filing of application of registration of voters shall be
conducted daily in the office of the Election Officer during regular office hours. No registration shall,
however, be conducted during the period starting 120 days before a regular election and 90 days before a
special election [Sec. 8, R.A. 8189]

 Anakbayan Youth v. Comelec, G.R. No. 147066, March 26, 2001, the Supreme Court upheld the action of
the Comelec denying petitioners’ request for two (2) additional registration days in order to enfranchise
more than 4 million youth between the ages 18-21 who failed to register on or before December 27, 2000.
The law was simply followed by the Comelec, and it is an accepted doctrine in administrative law that the
determination of administrative agencies as to the operation, implementation and application of a law is
accorded great weight, considering that these specialized government bodies are, by their nature and
functions, in the best position to know what they can possibly do or not do under prevailing circumstances

i. Disqualification. The same grounds as the disqualifications for suffrage.

ii. Illiterate or disabled voters. Any illiterate person may register with the
assistance of the Election Officer or any member of an accredited citizen’s arms.
The application for registration of a physically disabled person may be prepared
by any relative within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity or by the
Election Officer or any member of an accredited citizen’s arm using the data
supplied by the applicant [Sec. 14, R.A. 8189],

iii. Election Registration Board [Sec. 15, R.A. 8189]. There shall be in each
city and municipality as many Election Registration Boards as there are election
officers therein.

1. The Board shall be composed of the Election Officer as chairman, and

as members, the public school official most senior in rank and the local
civil registrar, or in his absence, the city or municipal treasurer.
2. No member of the Board shall be related to each other or to any
incumbent city or municipal elective official
within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.
3. Every registered party and such organizations as may be authorized by
the Commission shall be entitled to a watcher in every registration board.

iv. Challenges to right to register [Sec. 18, R.A. 8189]. Any voter, candidate or
representative of a registered political party may challenge in writing any
application for registration, stating the grounds therefor.

 The challenge shall be under oath and attached to the application,

together with the proof of notice of hearing to the challenger and the
applicant.
 Oppositions to contest a registrant’s application for inclusion in the
voters’ list must, in all cases, be filed not later than
the second Monday of the month in which the same is scheduled to be
heard or processed by the Election Registration Board.
 The hearing on the challenge shall be heard on the third Monday of
the month and the decision shall be rendered before the end of the
month.
v. Deactivation of Registration [Sec. 27, R.A. 8189]. The Board shall deactivate the
registration and remove the registration records of the persons from the
 corresponding precinct book of voters and place the same, properly marked and
dated in indelible ink, in the inactive file after entering the cause or causes of
deactivation:
1. [a] Any person who has been sentence by final judgment to suffer
imprisonment for not less than one year, such disability not
having been removed by plenary pardon or amnesty; Provided, however,
that any person disqualified to vote (because of this) shall automatically
reacquire the right to vote upon expiration of five years after service of
sentence as certified by the
clerks of courts;
2. [b] any person who has been adjudged by final judgment by a
competent court or tribunal of having caused/committed any crime
involving disloyalty to the duly constituted government, such as
rebellion, sedition, violation of the anti-subversion and firearms laws, or
any crime against national security, unless restored to his full civil and
political rights in accordance with law, Provided
that he shall regain his right to vote automatically upon expiration of five
years from service of sentence;
3. [c] any person declared by competent authority to be insane or
incompetent unless such disqualification has been subsequently removed
by a declaration of a proper authority that such person is no longer
insane or incompetent;
4. [d] any person who did not vote in the two successive preceding
regular elections as shown by their voting records (for this purpose,
regular elections do not include the Sangguniang Kabataan elections);
5. [e] any person whose registration has been ordered excluded by the
court; and
6. [f] any person who has lost his Filipino citizenship.

vi. Reactivation of Registration [Sec. 28, R.A. 8189]. Any voter whose
registration has been deactivated may file with the Election Officer a sworn
application for reactivation of his registration in the form of an affidavit stating
that the grounds for the deactivation no longer exist any time but not later than
120 days before a regular election and 90 days before a special election. The
Election Officer shall submit such application to the Election Registration Board
for appropriate action.

vii. Preparation and Posting of the Certified List of Voters [Sec. 30, R.A.
8189]. The Board shall prepare and post a certified list of voters 90 days before a
regular election and 60 days before a special election and furnish copies thereof to
the provincial, regional and national central files. Copies of the certified list,
along with a list of deactivated voters categorized by precinct per barangay shall
 also be posted in the office of the Election Officer and in the bulletin board of
each city/municipal hall.

D. INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION PROCEEDINGS.

 Common rules governing judicial proceedings in the matter of inclusion, exclusion and
correction of names of voters:
o Petition for inclusion, exclusion or correction of names of voters shall be filed during
office hours.
o Notice of the place, date and time of the hearing of the petition shall be served upon the
members of the Board and the challenged voter upon filing of the petition.
o A petition shall refer only to one precinct and shall implead the Board as respondents.
o No costs shall be assessed against any party in these proceedings. However, if the court
finds that the application has been filed solely to harass the adverse party and cause him
to incur expenses, it shall order the culpable party to pay the costs and incidental
expenses.
o Any voter, candidate or political party affected by the proceedings may intervene and
present his evidence.
o The decision shall be based on the evidence presented and in no case rendered upon a
stipulation of facts. If the question is whether or not the voter is real or fictitious, his
non-appearance on the day set for hearing shall be prima facie evidence that the
challenged voter is fictitious.
o The petition shall be heard and decided within 10 days from the date of its filing. Cases
appealed to the RTC shall be decided within 10 days from receipt of the appeal. In all
cases, the court shall decide these petitions not later than 15 days before the election
and the decision shall become final and executory.
 Jurisdiction in inclusion and exclusion cases [Sec. 33, R.A. 8189]. The Municipal and
Metropolitan Trial Courts shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all cases of
inclusion and exclusion of voters in their respective cities and municipalities. Decisions of the
Municipal or Metropolitan Trial Courts may be appealed by the aggrieved party to the Regional
Trial Court within five days from receipt of notice thereof. Otherwise, said decision shall
become final and executory. The RTC shall decide the appeal within 10 days from the time it is
received and the decision shall immediately become final and executory. No motion for
reconsideration shall be entertained.
 Petition for Inclusion [Sec. 34, R.A. 8189]. Any person whose application for registration has
been disapproved by the Board or whose name has been stricken out from the list may file with
the court a petition to include his name in the permanent list of voters in his precinct at any
time except 105 days prior to a regular election or 75 days prior to a special election. It shall be
supported by a certificate of disapproval or his application and proof of service of notice of his
petition upon the Board. The petition shall be decided within 15 days after its filing.