Section 21January 23, 2007, Sec./Art. 21

Section 22 of Republic Act No. 8436 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 26. Number of Copies of Certificates of Canvass of Votes and their distribution. - (a) The certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, parties, organization or coalitions participating under the party-list system and elective provincial officials shall be produced by the city or municipal board of canvassers and distributed as follows:

"(1) The first copy shall be delivered to the provincial board of canvassers for use in the canvass of election results for president, vice-president, senators, members of the House of Representatives, parties, organization or coalitions participating under the party-list system and elective provincial officials;

"(2) The second copy shall be sent to the Commission;

"(3) The third copy shall be kept by the chairman of the board; and

"(4) The fourth copy shall be given to the citizen arm designated by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. It shall be the duty of the citizens' arm to furnish independent candidates' copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.

"(5) The fifth copy to Congress, directed to the President of Senate;

"(6) The sixth copy to be posted on a wall within the premises of the canvassing center;

"(7) The seventh and eighth copies shall be given to the dominant majority and minority parties;

"(8) The ninth to eighteenth copies shall be given to the ten (10) accredited major national parties, excluding the dominant majority and minority parties, in accordance with a voluntary agreement among them. If no such agreement is reached, the Commission shall decide which parties shall receive the copies on the basis of the criteria provided in Section 26 of Republic Act no. 7166;

"(9) The nineteenth and twentieth copies shall be given to the two accredited major local parties in accordance with a voluntary agreement among them. If no such agreement is reached, the Commission shall decide which parties shall receive the copies on the basis of criteria analogous to that provided in Section 26 of Republic Act No. 7166;

"(10) The twenty-first to the twenty-fifth copies to national broadcast or print media entities as may be equitably determined by the Commission in view of propagating the copies to the widest extent possible;

"(11) The twenty-six and twenty-seven copies, to local broadcast or print media entities as may be equitably determined by the Commission in view of propagating the copies to the widest extent possible; and

"(12) The twenty-eighth to the thirtieth copies, to the major citizens' arms, including the accredited citizens' arm, and other non-partisan groups or organizations enlisted by the commission pursuant to Section 52(k) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881. Such citizens' arms, groups and organization may use the three certified copies of election returns for the conduct of citizens' quick counts at the local or national levels;

"The board of canvassers shall furnish all other registered parties copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.

"(b) The certificate of canvass of votes for president, vice-president and senators, parties, organization or coalitions participating under the party-list system shall be produced by the city boards of canvassers of cities comprising one or more legislative districts, by provincial boards of canvassers and by district boards of canvassers in the Metro Manila area, and other highly urbanized areas and distributed as follows:

"(1) The first copy shall be sent to congress , directed to the president of the Senate for use in the canvass of election results for president and vice-president;

"(2) The second copy shall be sent to the Commission for use in the canvass of the election results for senators;

"(3) The third copy shall be kept the chairman of the board; and

"(4) The fourth copy shall be given to the citizens' arm designated by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count. It shall be the duty of the citizens' arm to furnish independent candidates copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.

"(5) The fifth copy to Congress, directed to the President of the Senate;

"(6) The six copy to be posted on a wall within the premises of the canvassing center;

"(7) The seventh and eight copies to the dominant majority and minority parties;

"(8) The ninth and tenth copies to two accredited major national parties representing the majority and minority, excluding the dominant majority and minority parties, to be determined by the Commission on the basis of the criteria provided in Section 26 of Republic Act No. 7166;

"(9) The eleventh to thirteenth copies to broadcast media entities as may be equitably determined by the Commission in view of propagating the copies to the widest extent possible; and

"(10) The fourteenth copy to another citizens' arm or in the absence thereof, to a non-partisan group or organization enlisted by the Commission pursuant to Section 52(k) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881. Such citizens' arm or non-partisan group or organization may use the copy of election return for the conduct of citizens' quick counts at the local or national levels.

"The board of canvassers shall furnish all other registered parties copies of the certificate of canvass at the expense of the requesting party.

"(c) The certificates of canvass printed by the provincial, district, city or municipal boards of canvassers shall be signed and thumb marked by the chairman and members of the board and the principal watchers, if available. Thereafter, it shall be sealed and placed inside an envelope which shall likewise be properly sealed.

"In all instances, where the board of Canvassers has the duty to furnish registered political parties with copies of the certificate of canvass, the pertinent election returns shall be attached thereto, where appropriate."

"Immediately after the six copy and its supporting statement of votes are printed, the chairman of the board of canvassers shall announce the posting of said prints on a wall within the premises of the canvassing center, which must be sufficiently lighted and accessible to the public. Any person may view or capture an image of the Certificate of Canvass or the supporting statement of votes by means of any data capturing device such as, but not limited to, cameras at any time of the day for forty-eight (48) hours following the posting. After such period, the chairman of the board of canvassers shall detach the election return from the wall and keep the same in his custody to be produced as may be requested by any voter for image or data capturing or for any lawful purpose as may be ordered by competent authority."