VII. SUFFRAGE, Article V; ELECTION LAWS 5.

Ethical theory: It is a necessary and essential means for

the development of society.
A. Definition, nature

B. Scope Theory prevailing in the Philippines: Suffrage is both a

privilege and an obligation.
1. Election
System of election adopted in the Philippines: Since 1901,
1. Suffrage: the right to vote in the election of officers chosen the Australian system, first conceived by Francis S. Dutton, a
by the people and in the determination of questions member of the Legislature of South Australia. The
submitted to the people. Includes within its scope: election, distinguishing feature of the system is strict secrecy in
plebiscite, initiative and referendum. balloting.

2. Election: the means by which the people choose their Constitutional mandate on Congress [Sec. 2, Art. V,
officials for a definite and fixed period and to whom they Constitution]:
entrust for the time being the exercise of the powers of
government. Kinds: 1. To provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity
of the ballot, and for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos
a) Regular: one provided by law for the election of officers abroad.
either nationwide or in certain subdivisions thereof, after the
expiration of the full term of the former officers. a) Sec. 12, R. A. 7166 provides for absentee voting, but is
applicable only to the elections for the President, Vice
b) Special: one held to fill a vacancy in office before the President and Senators, and limited to members of the
expiration of the full term for which the incumbent was Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National
elected. Police and other government officers and employees who
are duly registered voters and who, on election day, may
3. Plebiscite: the submission of constitutional amendments temporarily be assigned in connection with the performance
of important legislative measures to the people for of election duties to places where they are not registered
ratification. voters.

4. Initiative: the power of the people to propose amendments b) R.A. 9189 (The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003)
to the Constitution, or to propose enact legislation through addressed the need for overseas Filipinos to be able to vote
an election called for the purpose. in Philippine elections. See following Chapter on VOTERS:
QUALIFICATION AND REGISTRATION, for more detailed
5. Referendum: the power of the electorate to approve or discussion.
reject national or local legislation through an election called
for the purpose. 2. To design a procedure for the disabled and the illiterate to
vote without the assistance of other persons.
6. Recall: the termination of official relationship of a local
elective official for loss of confidence prior to the expiration Election period. Unless otherwise fixed by the Comelec in
of his term through the will of the electorate. special cases, the election period shall commence 90 days
before the day of the election and shall end 30 days
Theories on Suffrage. thereafter [Sec. 9, Art. IX-C, Constitution].

1. Natural right theory: Suffrage is a natural and inherent - Batas Pambansa 881, Omnibus Election Code
right of every citizen who is not disqualified by reason of his (1985)
own reprehensible conduct or unfitness.
2. Plebiscite, Article X, Sections 10, 11, 18
2. Social expediency: Suffrage is a public office or function
conferred upon the citizen for reasons of social expediency; Section 10. No province, city, municipality, or barangay may
conferred upon those who are fit and capable of discharging be created, divided, merged, abolished, or its boundary
it. substantially altered, except in accordance with the criteria
established in the local government code and subject to
3. Tribal theory: It is a necessary attribute of membership in approval by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite in the
the State. political units directly affected.

4. Feudal theory: It is an adjunct of a particular status, Section 11. The Congress may, by law, create special
generally tenurial in metropolitan political subdivisions, subject to a plebiscite as
character, i.e., a vested privilege usually accompanying set forth in Section 10 hereof. The component cities and
ownership of land. municipalities shall retain their basic autonomy and shall be
entitled to their own local executive and legislative
assemblies. The jurisdiction of the metropolitan authority that
will thereby be created shall be limited to basic services representatives, may invoke their power of initiative, giving
requiring coordination. notice thereof to the sanggunian concerned.

Section 18. The Congress shall enact an organic act for (c) The proposition shall be numbered serially starting from
each autonomous region with the assistance and Roman numeral I. The COMELEC or its designated
participation of the regional consultative commission representative shall extend assistance in the formulation of
composed of representatives appointed by the President the proposition.
from a list of nominees from multi-sectoral bodies. The
organic act shall define the basic structure of government for (d) Two (2) or more propositions may be submitted in an
the region consisting of the executive department and initiative.
legislative assembly, both of which shall be elective and
representative of the constituent political units. The organic (e) Proponents shall have ninety (90) days in case of
acts shall likewise provide for special courts with personal, provinces and cities, sixty (60) days in case of municipalities,
family, and property law jurisdiction consistent with the and thirty (30) days in case of barangays, from notice
provisions of this Constitution and national laws. mentioned in subsection (b) hereof to collect the required
number of signatures.
The creation of the autonomous region shall be effective
when approved by majority of the votes cast by the (f) The petition shall be signed before the election registrar,
constituent units in a plebiscite called for the purpose, or his designated representatives, in the presence of a
provided that only provinces, cities, and geographic areas representative of the proponent, and a representative of the
voting favorably in such plebiscite shall be included in the sanggunian concerned in a public place in the local
autonomous region. government unit, as the case may be. Stations for collecting
signatures may be established in as many places as may be
3. Initiative, Article XVII, Section 2 warranted.

Section 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be (g) Upon the lapse of the period herein provided, the
directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a COMELEC, through its office in the local government unit
petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number concerned, shall certify as to whether or not the required
of registered voters, of which every legislative district must number of signatures has been obtained. Failure to obtain
be represented by at least three per centum of the the required number defeats the proposition.
registered voters therein. No amendment under this
section shall be authorized within five years following the (h) If the required number of signatures is obtained, the
ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every COMELEC shall then set a date for the initiative during
five years thereafter. which the proposition shall be submitted to the registered
voters in the local government unit concerned for their
The Congress shall provide for the implementation of the approval within sixty (60) days from the date of certification
exercise of this right. by the COMELEC, as provided in subsection (g) hereof, in
case of provinces and cities, forty-five (45) days in case of
- RA 6735, Initiative and Referendum Act municipalities, and thirty (30) days in case of barangays. The
- RA 7160, Local Government Code of 1991, initiative shall then be held on the date set, after which the
Sections 120-126 results thereof shall be certified and proclaimed by the
COMELEC.
SECTION 120. Local Initiative Defined. – Local initiative is
the legal process whereby the registered voters of a local SECTION 123. Effectivity of Local Propositions. – If the
government unit may directly propose, enact, or amend proposition is approved by a majority of the votes cast, it
any ordinance. shall take effect fifteen (15) days after certification by the
COMELEC as if affirmative action thereon had been made
SECTION 121. Who May Exercise. – The power of local by the sanggunian and local chief executive concerned. If it
initiative and referendum may be exercised by all registered fails to obtain said number of votes, the proposition is
voters of the provinces, cities, municipalities, and considered defeated.
barangays.
SECTION 124. Limitations on Local Initiative. – (a) The
SECTION 122. Procedure in Local Initiative. – (a) Not less power of local initiative shall not be exercised more than
than one thousand (1,000) registered voters in case of once a year.
provinces and cities, one hundred (100) in case of
municipalities, and fifty (50) in case of barangays, may file a (b) Initiative shall extend only to subjects or matters which
petition with the sanggunian concerned proposing the are within the legal powers of the sanggunian to enact.
adoption, enactment, repeal, or amendment of an ordinance.
(c) If at any time before the initiative is held, the sanggunian
(b) If no favorable action thereon is taken by the sanggunian concerned adopts in toto the proposition presented and the
concerned within thirty (30) days from its presentation, the local chief executive approves the same, the initiative shall
proponents, through their duly authorized and registered be cancelled. However, those against such action may, if
they so desire, apply for initiative in the manner herein sought to be recalled was elected subject to the following
provided. percentage requirements:

SECTION 125. Limitations upon Sanggunians. – Any (1) At least twenty-five percent (25%) in the case of local
proposition or ordinance approved through the system of government units with a voting population of not more than
initiative and referendum as herein provided shall not be twenty thousand (20,000);
repealed, modified or amended by the sanggunian
concerned within six (6) months from the date of the (2) At least twenty percent (20%) in the case of local
approval thereof, and may be amended, modified or government units with a voting population of at least twenty
repealed by the sanggunian within three (3) years thereafter thousand (20,000) but not more than seventy-five thousand
by a vote of three-fourths (3/4) of all its members: Provided, (75,000): Provided, That in no case shall the required
That in case of barangays, the period shall be eighteen (18) petitioners be less than five thousand (5,000);
months after the approval thereof.
(3) At least fifteen percent (15%) in the case of local
SECTION 126. Local Referendum Defined. – Local government units with a voting population of at least
referendum is the legal process whereby the registered seventy-five thousand (75,000) but not more than three
voters of the local government units may approve, amend or hundred thousand (300,000): Provided, however, That in no
reject any ordinance enacted by the sanggunian. case shall the required number of petitioners be less than
fifteen thousand (15,000); and
The local referendum shall be held under the control and
direction of the COMELEC within sixty (60) days in case of (4) At least ten percent (10%) in the case of local
provinces and cities, forty-five (45) days in case of government units with a voting population of over three
municipalities and thirty (30) days in case of barangays. hundred thousand (300,000): Provided, however, That in no
case shall the required petitioners be less than forty-five
The COMELEC shall certify and proclaim the results of the thousand (45,000).
said referendum.
(b) The process of recall shall be effected in accordance with
- Limitations on local initiative, Section 124 the following procedure:

- Limitations upon the Sangguniang , Section 125(1) A written petition for recall duly signed by the
representatives of the petitioners before the election registrar
4. Referendum, Article VI, Section, 32; RA 7160 or his representative, shall be filed with the Comelec through
Sections 127 its office in the local government unit concerned.

5. Recall, Article X, Section 3; RA 7160, Section 69- (2) The petition to recall shall contain the following:
75 (Recall )
(a) The names and addresses of the petitioners written in
Section 3. The Congress shall enact a local government legible form and their signatures;
code which shall provide for a more responsive and
accountable local government structure instituted through (b) The barangay, city or municipality, local legislative district
a system of decentralization with effective mechanisms of and the province to which the petitioners belong;
recall, initiative, and referendum, allocate among the
(c) The name of the official sought to be recalled; and
different local government units their powers,
responsibilities, and resources, and provide for the (d) A brief narration of the reasons and justifications
qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, therefore.
salaries, powers and functions and duties of local
officials, and all other matters relating to the organization (1) The Comelec shall, within fifteen (15) days from the filing
and operation of the local units.  of the petition, certify to the sufficiency of the required
SECTION 69. By Whom Exercised. – The power of recall for number of signatures. Failure to obtain the required number
loss of confidence shall be exercised by the registered of signatures automatically nullifies the petition;
voters of a local government unit to which the local elective
official subject to such recall belongs. (2) If the petition is found to be sufficient in form, the
Comelec or its duly authorized representative shall, within
SECTION 70. Initiation of the Recall Process. – three (3) days from the issuance of the certification, provide
the official sought to be recalled a copy of the petition, cause
(a) The Recall of any elective provincial, city, municipal or its publication in a national newspaper of general circulation
barangay official shall be commenced by a petition of a and a newspaper of general circulation in the locality, once a
registered voter in the local government unit concerned and week for three (3) consecutive weeks at the expense of the
supported by the registered voters in the local government petitioners and at the same time post copies thereof in public
unit concerned during the election in which the local official and conspicuous places for a period of not less than ten (10)
days nor more than twenty (20) days, for the purpose of
allowing interested parties to examine and verify the validity - Prohibition from resignation, Section 73
of the petition and the authenticity of the signatures
contained therein. - Limitations on Recall, Section 74

(3) The Comelec or its duly authorized representatives shall, C. Qualifications and disqualifications of voters, Article V,
upon issuance of certification, proceed independently with Section 1
the verification and authentication of the signatures of the
petitioners and registered voters contained therein. A. Qualifications for suffrage: “Suffrage may be exercised by
Representatives of the petitioners and the official sought to all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by
be recalled shall be duly notified and shall have the right to law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall
participate therein as mere observers. The filing of any have resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in
challenge or protest shall be allowed within the period the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six
provided in the immediately preceding paragraph and shall months immediately preceding the election. No literacy,
be ruled upon with finality within fifteen (15) days from the property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed
date of filing of such protest or challenge; on the exercise of suffrage [Sec. 1, Art. V, Constitution]
.
(4) Upon the lapse of the aforesaid period, the Comelec or 1. Any person who transfers residence to another city,
its duly authorized representative shall announce the municipality or country solely by reason of his occupation,
acceptance of candidates to the position and thereafter profession or employment in private or public service,
prepare the list of candidates which shall include the name education, etc., shall not be deemed to have lost his original
of the official sought to be recalled. residence [Sec. 117, B.P 881],

SECTION 71. Election on Recall. – Upon the filing of a valid 2. In Makalintal v. Comelec, G.R. No. 157013, July 3, 2003,
petition for recall with the appropriate local office of the challenged as unconstitutional was Sec. 5(d) of R.A. 9189
Comelec, the Comelec or its duly authorized representative (The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003), which
shall set the date of the election or recall, which shall not be provides that among those disqualified to vote is an
later than thirty (30) days upon the completion of the immigrant or a permanent resident (of another country) who
procedure outlined in the preceding article, in the case of the is recognized as such in the host country, unless he/she
barangay, city or municipal officials, and forty-five (45) days executes an affidavit declaring the he/ she shall resume
in the case of provincial officials. The officials sought to be actual, physical, permanent residence in the Philippines not
recalled shall automatically be considered as duly registered later than three years from approval of his/her registration
candidate or candidates to the pertinent positions and, like under the said Act, and that he/she had not applied for
other candidates, shall be entitled to be voted upon. citizenship in another country.. On this challenge, the
Supreme Court said that inasmuch as the essence of R.A.
SECTION 72. Effectivity of Recall. – The recall of an elective 9189 is to enfranchise overseas qualified Filipinos, the Court
local official shall be effective only upon the election and should take a holistic view of the pertinent provisions of both
proclamation of a successor in the person of the candidate the Constitution and R.A. 9189. The law was enacted in
receiving the highest number of votes cast during the obeisance to the mandate of the first paragraph of Sec. 2,
election on recall. Should the official sought to be recalled Art. V of the Constitution, that Congress shall provide a
receive the highest number of votes, confidence in him is system for voting by qualified Filipinos abroad. It must be
thereby affirmed, and he shall continue in office. stressed that Sec. 2 does not provide for the parameters of
the exercise of legislative authority in enacting said law.
SECTION 73. Prohibition from Resignation. – The elective Hence, in the absence of restrictions, Congress is presumed
local official sought to be recalled shall not be allowed to to have duly exercised its function as defined in Art. VI of the
resign while the recall process is in progress. Constitution.

SECTION 74. Limitations on Recall. – (a) Any elective local a) In this case, the Supreme Court continued by saying that
official may be the subject of a recall election only once contrary to the claim of petitioner, the execution of the
during his term of office for loss of confidence. affidavit itself is not the enabling or enfranchising act. The
affidavit required is not only proof of the intention of the
(b) No recall shall take place within one (1) year from the immigrant or permanent resident to go back and resume
date of the official’s assumption to office or one (1) year residency in the Philippines, but more significantly, it serves
immediately preceding a regular local election. as an explicit expression that he had not in fact abandoned
his domicile of origin. It must be emphasized that Sec. 5(d)
SECTION 75. Expenses Incident to Recall Elections. – All does not only require an affidavit or a promise to “resume
expenses incident to recall elections shall be borne by the actual physical permanent residence in the Philippines not
COMELEC. For this purpose, there shall be included in the later than three years from the approval of his/her
annual General Appropriations Act as contingency fund at registration”, the Filipino abroad must also declare that they
the disposal of the COMELEC for the conduct of recall have not applied for citizenship in another country. Thus,
elections. 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. Disqualifications [Sec. 118, B.P. 881]:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Insane or incompetent persons as declared by competent
authority.
C. Registration of voters. 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],
1. 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],
2. 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
3. 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].
registration of voters [Sec. 7, R.A. 8189 (The Voters
Registration Act of 1996)].
- RA 8189 – Voter’s Registration Act (1996)
- RA 10637 – Mandatory Biometrics Voters’
Registration Act
- Case: Kabataan Party List v Comelec, GR 221318
(2010)
Case Kabataan Party List v Comelec, GR 221318
(2010
Facts
Issue
Ruling With these considerations in mind, petitioners'
claim that biometrics validation imposed under
RA 10367, and implemented under COMELEC
Resolution Nos. 9721, 9863, and 10013, must
perforce fail. To reiterate, this requirement is not
a "qualification" to the exercise of the right of
suffrage, but a mere aspect of the registration
procedure, of which the State has the right to
reasonably regulate. It was institutionalized
conformant to the limitations of the 1987
Constitution and is a mere complement to the
existing Voter's Registration Act of 1996.
Petitioners would do well to be reminded of this
Court's pronouncement in AKBAYAN-Youth,
wherein it was held that:
[T]he act of registration is an indispensable
precondition to the right of suffrage. For
registration is part and parcel of the right to vote
and an indispensable element in the election
process. Thus, contrary to petitioners' argument,
registration cannot and should not be denigrated
to the lowly stature of a mere statutory
requirement. Proceeding from the significance of
registration as a necessary requisite to the right
to vote, the State undoubtedly, in the exercise of
its inherent police power, may then enact laws to
safeguard and regulate the act of voter's
registration for the ultimate purpose of
conducting honest, orderly and peaceful
election, to the incidental yet generally important
end, that even pre-election activities could be
performed by the duly constituted authorities in a
realistic and orderly manner - one which is not
indifferent, and so far removed from the pressing
order of the day and the prevalent
circumstances of the times.88 (Emphasis and
underscoring supplied)
Thus, unless it is shown that a registration
requirement rises to the level of a literacy,
property or other substantive requirement as
contemplated by the Framers of the Constitution
- that is, one which propagates a socio-
economic standard which is bereft of any
rational basis to a person's ability to intelligently
cast his vote and to further the public good - the
same cannot be struck down as unconstitutional,
as in this case.
Section 1, Article V of the 1987 Constitution
delineates the current parameters for the
exercise of suffrage:
Section 1. 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.
Dissecting the provision, one must meet the
following qualifications in order to exercise the
right of suffrage: first, he must be a Filipino
citizen; second, he must not be disqualified by
law; and third, he must have resided in the
Philippines for at least one (1) year and in the
place wherein he proposes to vote for at least
six (6) months immediately preceding the
election.
Properly speaking, the concept of a
"qualification", at least insofar as the discourse
on suffrage is concerned, should be
distinguished from the concept of "registration",
which is jurisprudentially regarded as only the
means by which a person's qualifications to vote
is determined. In Yra v. Abaño,77 citing Meffert
v. Brown,78 it was stated that "[t]he act of
registering is only one step towards voting, and it
is not one of the elements that makes the citizen
a qualified voter [and] one may be a qualified
voter without exercising the right to vote."79 In
said case, this Court definitively characterized
registration as a form of regulation and not as a
qualification for the right of suffrage:
Registration regulates the exercise of the right of
suffrage. It is not a qualification for such right.
As a form of regulation, compliance with the
registration procedure is dutifully enjoined.
Section 115 of the Omnibus Election Code
provides:
Section 115. Necessity of Registration. - 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.
As the deliberations on the 1973 Constitution
made clear, registration is a mere procedural
requirement which does not fall under the
limitation that "[n]o literacy, property, or other
substantive requirement shall be imposed on the
exercise of suffrage." This was echoed in
AKBAYAN-Youth v. COMELEC81 (AKBAYAN-
Youth), wherein the Court pronounced that the
process of registration is a procedural limitation
on the right to vote. Albeit procedural, the right of
a citizen to vote nevertheless remains
conditioned upon it:
rights as expansion from its earlier applications
to equal protection.
Applying strict scrutiny, the focus is on the
presence of compelling, rather than substantial,
governmental interest and on the absence of
less restrictive means for achieving that
interest,94 and the burden befalls upon the State
to prove the same.
In this case, respondents have shown that the
biometrics validation requirement under RA
10367 advances a compelling state interest. It
was precisely designed to facilitate the conduct
of orderly, honest, and credible elections by
containing - if not eliminating, the perennial
problem of having flying voters, as well as dead
and multiple registrants.
D. Secrecy and sanctity of the ballot, Article V, Section 2
- RA 9369 – Election Automation Law
E. System of Absentee Voting, Article V, Section 2;
- RA 9189 – Overseas Absentee Voting Act (2003) ,
as amended by RA 10590 The Overseas Voting Act
of 2013
- RA 7166 – (Synchronized Elections), Section 12 –
Absentee Voting for AFP, PNP and government employees
assigned to places where they are not registered voters
- RA 10380 – An Act Providing for Local Absentee
Voting for Media

RA 8189 primarily governs the process of

registration. It defines "registration" as "the act of
accomplishing and filing of a sworn application
for registration by a qualified voter before the
election officer of the city or municipality wherein
he resides and including the same in the book of
registered voters upon approval by the
[ERB]."83 As stated in Section 2 thereof, RA
8189 was passed in order "to systematize the
present method of registration in order to
establish a clean, complete, permanent and
updated list of voters.

Strict scrutiny is used today to test the validity of

laws dealing with the regulation of speech,
gender, or race as well as other fundamental