HEAR ME OUT!

Directions: List down 5 do’s and don’ts were a registered voter must
consider in exercising their right of suffrage in electing public officials.

DO’s DON’TS
 ELECTION is a formal group decision-making process by which
a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold
public office. Thru elections, people exercise their one of the
greatest powers which is right of suffrage or right to vote.

POLITICAL PARTY is an organized group of people with at least

roughly similar political aims and opinions, that seeks to influence
public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office.
 ELECTIONS are device for filling a government office through
choices made by the electorate, a designate body of qualified people.

Election is integral to democratic governance.

TYPES OF ELECTION
GENERAL ELECTION
held for the purpose of electing national and local officials
simultaneously.
NATIONAL ELECTIONS
conducted to elect the President, Vice-President and members of
congress
LOCAL ELECTIONS
held for purpose of selecting officials in the Region,
provinces, cities and municipalities.
SPECIAL ELECTIONS
held on a date different from that of regular election.
RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE is also known as the right to vote, is
stated in Section 1,
Article V of the 1987 Constitution

Who may EXERCISE SUFFRAGE?

• Every citizen who are at least 18 years old on the Election Day.
• A resident of the Philippines for at least a year and for at least 6
months on the place he is registering.
• Not otherwise disqualified by law.
• A registered voter.
Who are DISQUALIFIED to vote?
• Any person found to be not normal mental condition
• Who has been found guilty of committing a crime involving
disloyalty to the state (rebellion and treason), except after 5
years from completion of his sentence
• Any person who has been sentenced for a prison term of not less
than one year, except after 5 years from completion of his
sentence
 RULES GOVERNING
ELECTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINE
• The supervision of the elections in the Philippines is under the
charge of the Commission on elections (COMELEC).
• In the process of supervising the conducts of elections, the
COMELEC is guided by the rules governing elections as started in
the provisions of Republic Act. No. 7166.
• ELECTIONS ON CAMPAIGN PERIOD- campaign period for
the President, Vice President and Senators is 90 days before the
election and 45 days before the day of election for members of the
House of Representatives.
• FILLING OF CERTIFICATE OF CANDIDACY- the certificate
of an individual running for national elections is required to be
filed at the main office of the COMELEC not later than the day
prior to the beginning to the campaign period.
• PRECINCTS AND POLLING PLACES - every barangay is
required to have at least one election precinct, with each precinct
having not more than 300 votes.
• REGISTRATIONS OF VOTERS – it is held on the 5th
Saturday prior to the day of election for those who are to reach
18 years of age or before the day of election and for those
qualifies to cast their vote but not included in the list of voters.
• COMMON POSTER AREA – the COMELEC is empowered to
designate common poster areas in the barangay where candidates
can post their election propaganda announcing their candidacy.
• OFFICIAL WATCHERS- every political party and candidate is
entitled to one watcher in every polling place and canvassing
center.
• BOARD OF ELECTION INSPECTORS - is constituted by a
chairman to one watcher in every polling place and canvassing
center.
• BOARD OF CANVASSERS - in every province, city and
municipality, a board of canvassers is constituted and composed
of provincial election supervisor.
 POLITICAL PARTY

• Consists of a group of people who join hands to contest the

elections in a country. These parties have a shared vision for the
country. This vision in addition to defining the party also guides
their actions and the policies formulated for the citizens of
the country. These parties in addition to other activities also
promote their policies and try to convince citizens to vote for
them. They aim winning the elections, so they can implement
their policies after getting selected. Functions of political party
are:
 Contesting elections
 Formulating policies
 Forming government or forming the opposition party
 Shaping public perception
MAJOR TYPES OF POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS
1. ONE-PARTY SYSTEMS
 Only one party dominates and there is no political competition
between parties. Single-party system has the right to form the
government, usually based on the existing constitution.
2. TWO-PARTY SYSTEMS
 A party system where two major political parties dominate
politics within a government. One of the two parties typically
holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referred to as the
majority party while other is the minority party.
3. DOMINANT PARTY SYSTEMS
 A party system where there is “a category of political
organizations that have successively won election and whose
future defeat cannot be envisaged or is unlikely for the
foreseeable future.”
4. MULTIPARTY SYSTEMS
 A party system in which multiple political parties have the
capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in
coalition.
 Current Structure of the Electoral System in the
Philippines
The structure of the current electoral system is provided in the
1987 Constitution and the Omnibus Election Code. The
COMELEC is given the task to enforce election laws and
exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the qualifications of
candidates, accreditation of political parties, and
canvassing of votes. The 1987 Constitution provides that
the three branches of the government are separate and
equal. The president and the vice president are elected
separately by a direct vote of the people. Under the simple
plurality method, the candidates with the highest number of
votes will be proclaimed winners (first-past-the-post system).
Both officials are to serve for a term of six years. The
maximum terms, the qualifications, and functions were already
discussed in module 9.
The Transitory Provisions of the 1987 Constitution says that
“of the senators elected in the election of 1992, the first 12
obtaining the highest number of votes shall serve for six years
(full) and the remaining 12 for three years.” In 1995, elected
senators were then given six-year term. Thus, 12 senators are
elected every three years. This scheme of concurrent six-year
terms was formulated so that the Senate would not be vacated
and continue with their law- and policy-making functions.
Remember that under a bicameral system, the bills submitted
by the House of Representatives are still to be considered by
the Senate. It is thus important that there are senators who
could deal with the bill; otherwise, no laws will be created.
At present, there are almost 300 representatives in the Philippines.
While the 1987 Constitution only provides for 250 members of the
House of Representatives, Article VI, Section 5 states that “each
legislative district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous,
compact and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at
least 250 000, or each province, shall have at least one
representative.” Within three years following the return of every
census, the Congress shall make a reapportion of legislative districts
based on the standards provided in Article VI, Section 5. Population
growth is thus a factor in such increase in the number of
representatives. Apart from population growth, another reason
for the increase of seats is due to several contestations on the
Party-List Act. In 2009, while the Supreme Court upheld the three-
seat cap, it ruled that the 2% election threshold was unconstitutional
and stipulated that for every five legislative districts created; one
seat for sectoral representatives should also be created. This
increased the sectoral seats in the 14th Congress from 22 to 55.
The current constitution encourages a free and open party
system. This led to the rise of several political parties in the
post-1986 period and the setting up of a multiparty system.
The introduction of the party-list system furthered this.
Meanwhile, the 1991 Local Government Code governs
elections for local government officials. The Punong
barangay, vice mayor, mayor, vice governor, and governor are
elected in their respective localities through a plurality vote
(first-past the-post system). The members of the local
assemblies (e.g., city and municipal councils and the
provincial board) are elected by district and through a
plurality vote. Members of the barangay or village assembly
are elected at large in their areas. The local government
officials are to serve a maximum of three consecutive three-
year terms (Teehankee 2002).
Directions: Read the statement carefully and briefly explain
your understanding of the quotation below.

A vote is like a rifle:

“its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”
Theodore Roosevelt

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the

security of all.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

If political party does not have its foundation in the

determination to advance a cause that is right and that is
moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a
conspiracy to seize power.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
 PICTOPINION!
Directions: Analyze the following images and answer the guide
questions below.
 Guide Questions:

1. List down key objects or key ideas used in the

editorial cartoon and describe what each represent.
a. Picture A:
b. Picture B:
2. What is the message of the editorial cartoon?
a. Picture A:
b. Picture B:
3. What can you learn from examining these editorial
cartoon?