Section 19January 5, 1988, Sec./Art. 19

Number of Copies of Election Returns and their Distribution. - The election returns required under Section 212 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 shall be prepared in sextuplicate. The first copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal board of canvassers as a boy for its use in the city or municipal canvass. The second copy shall be delivered to the election registrar of the city or municipality for transmittal to the provincial board of canvassers for its use in the provincial canvass. The third copy shall likewise be delivered to the election registrar for transmittal to the Commission.

The fourth copy, to be known as advance election returns, shall be delivered to the city or municipal treasurer who, in the pre-large to enable the public to read them, builtized representative, shall immediately and publicly open the same and post the votes therein in an election board, sufficiently large to enable to public to read them, built on a public place preferably within the immediate vicinity of the city hall of municipal building. The fifth copy shall be deposited in the compartment of the ballot box for valid ballots. The sixth copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal trial judge or municipal circuit trial judge, as the case may be, or in his absence to any official who may be designated by the Commission for safekeeping.

Said copy maybe opened during the canvass upon order of the board of canvassers for purposes of comparison with other copies of the returns whose authenticity is in question.

The city or municipal treasurer shall issue certified copy of any election returns in his possession upon request of any interested party and payment of the fees required by existing ordinances.

The Commission shall promulgate rules for the speedy and safe delivery or preservation of the election returns.