Article 18p. 18

OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE ELECTION LAWS, RULES AND PROCEDURES

one copy and send the two other copies thereof to the

provincial election supervisor and the Commission, to be

attached by them to the permanent list under their

custody.

Section 124. Meeting to close the list of voters. —

The board of election inspectors shall also meet on the

second Saturday immediately preceding the day of the

regular election, or on the second day immediately

preceding the day of the special election, plebiscite or

referendum whether it be Sunday or a legal holiday, for

the purpose of making such inclusions, exclusions, and

corrections as may be or may have been ordered by the

courts, stating opposite every name so corrected, added,

or cancelled, the date of the order and the court which

issued the same; and for the consecutive numbering of

the voters of the election precinct.

Should the board fail to include in the list of voters

any

person

ordered

by

competent

court

to

be

so

included,

said

person

shall,

upon

presentation of a

certified copy of the order of inclusion and upon proper

identification, be allowed by the board to vote.

Should the board fail to exclude from the list of voters

any person ordered by the court to be so excluded, the

board

shall

not

permit

said

person

to

vote

upon

presentation to it by any interested party of a certified

copy of the order of exclusion.

Section

125.

Re-registration.

—

A

voter

who

is

registered in the permanent list of voters need not

register anew for subsequent elections unless he transfer

residence

to

another

city

or

municipality,

or

his

registration

has

been

cancelled

on

the

ground

of

disqualification and such disqualification has been lifted

or removed. Likewise a voter whose registration has been

cancelled due to failure to vote in the preceding regular

election may register anew in the city or municipality

where he is qualified to vote.

Section 126. Registration of voters. — On the seventh

and sixth Saturdays before a regular election or on the

second Saturday following the day of the proclamation

calling

for

a

new

special

election,

plebiscite

or

referendum, any person desiring to be registered as a

voter shall accomplish in triplicate before the board of

election inspectors a voter's affidavit in which shall be

stated the following data:

(a) Name, surname, middle name, maternal surname;

(b) Date and place of birth;

(c) Citizenship;

(d) Periods of residence in the Philippines and in the

place of registration;

(e) Exact address with the name of the street and

house number or in case there is none, a brief description

of the locality and the place;

(f) A statement that the applicant has not been

previously registered, otherwise he shall be required to

attach a sworn application for cancellation of his previous

registration; and

(g) Such other information or data which may be

required by the Commission.

The

voter's

affidavit

shall

also

contain

three

specimens of the applicant's signature and clear and

legible prints of his left and right hand thumbmarks

and shall be sworn to and filed together with four copies

of the latest identification photograph to be supplied by

the applicant.

The oath of the applicant shall include a statement

that he does not have any of the disqualifications of a

voter and that he has not been previously registered in

the precinct or in any other precinct.

Before

the

applicant

accomplishes

his

voter's

affidavit, the board of election inspectors shall appraise

the applicant of the qualifications and disqualifications

prescribed by law for a voter. It shall also see to it that the

accomplished voter's affidavit contain all the data therein

required and that the applicant's specimen signatures,

the prints of his left and right hand thumbmarks and his

photograph are properly affixed in each of the voter's

affidavit.

Section 127. Illiterate or disabled applicants. — The

voter's affidavit of an illiterate or physically disabled

person may be prepared by any relative within the fourth

civil degree of consanguinity or affinity or by any member

of the board of election inspectors who shall prepare the

affidavit in accordance with the data supplied by the

applicant.

Section

128.

Voter's

identification.

—

The

identification card issued to the voter shall serve and be

considered as a document for the identification of each

registered voter: Provided, however, That if the voter's

identity is challenged on election day and he cannot

present his voter identification card, his identity may be

established by the specimen signatures, the photograph

or the fingerprints in his voter's affidavit in the book of

voters.

No

extra

or

duplicate

copy

of

the

voter

identification card shall be prepared and issued except

upon authority of the Commission.

Each identification card shall bear the name and the

address of the voter, his date of birth, sex, civil status,

occupation, his photograph, thumbmark, the city or

municipality and number of the polling place where he is

registered, his signature, his voter serial number and the

signature of the chairman of the board of election

inspectors.

Any voter previously registered under the provisions

of Presidential Decree Numbered 1896 who desires to

secure a voter identification card shall, on any registration

day,

provide

four

copies

of

his

latest

identification

photograph to the board of election inspectors which

upon receipt thereof shall affix one copy thereof to the

voter's affidavit in the book of voters, one copy to the

voter identification card to be issued to the voter and

transmit through the election registrar, one copy each to

the provincial election supervisor and the Commission to

be respectively attached to the voter's affidavit in their

respective custody.

Section

129.

Action

by

the

board

of

election

inspectors. — Upon receipt of the voter's affidavit, the

board of election inspectors shall examine the data

therein. If it finds that the applicant possesses all the

qualifications and none of the disqualifications of a voter,

he

shall

be

registered.

Otherwise,

he

shall

not

be

registered.

The name and address of each registered voter shall,

immediately upon his registration, be entered in the

proper alphabetical group in the list after which the voter

identification card shall be issued to the voter.

Section 130. Provincial central file of registered

voters. — There shall be a provincial central file of

registered voters containing the duplicate copies of all

approved voter's affidavits in each city and municipality in

the province which shall be under the custody and

supervision of the provincial election supervisor. The

applications shall be compiled alphabetically by precincts

so as to make the file an exact replica of the book of

voters in the possession of the election registrar.

Should the book of voters in the custody of the

election registrar be lost or destroyed at a time so close to

the election day that there is no time to reconstitute the

same, the corresponding book of voters in the provincial

file shall be used during the voting.

Section 131. National central file of registered voters.

— There shall also be a national central file or registered

voters consisting of the triplicate copies of all approved

voters' affidavits in all cities and municipalities which shall

be

prepared

and

kept

in

the central office of the

Commission. The applications in the national central file

shall

be

compiled

alphabetically

according

to

the

surnames of the registered voters regardless of the place

of registration.

© Compiled by RGL

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