/ 81 OG No. 49, 5783 (December 9, 1985)

[ BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 883, December 03, 1985 ]

AN ACT CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT, PROVIDING FOR THE MANNER OF THE HOLDING THEREOF, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Batasang Pambansa in session assembled:

SECTION 1. Special election for President and Vice-President.
- There shall be a special election for President and Vice-President on
February 7, 1986.

SECTION 2. Direct vote and term of office. - The President
and the Vice-President shall be elected by direct vote of the people for
a term of six years which shall begin at noon on the tenth day
following their proclamation and shall end at noon on the thirtieth day
of June of the sixth year thereafter.

SECTION 3. Filing of certificate of candidacy. - No person
shall be elected President or Vice-President unless he files a sworn
certificate of candidacy not later than December 11, 1985.

SECTION 4. Nomination of official candidates. - Political
parties, coalitions, and other similar groups or organizations shall
submit to the Commission on Elections a certificate of nomination of
their respective official candidates not later than December 21, 1985.

SECTION 5. Election and campaign periods. - The election
period shall be fixed by the Commission on Elections in accordance with
Section 6, Article XII(C) of the Constitution.

The campaign period shall commence on December 11, 1985 and shall
terminate on February 5, 1986.

SECTION 6. Registration of voters. - The board of election
inspectors in polling places determined by the Commission on Elections
shall meet on December 21 and 28, 1985 to receive and act on
applications for registration of qualified voters, from seven o'clock in
the morning to four o'clock in the afternoon. The said board shall
include the newly registered voters in the list of voters for the
particular polling place in which they have registered.

Within seven working days counted from the last day of registration
provided herein, the municipal or city election registrar shall transmit
direct to the Commission on Elections the exact number of qualified
voters newly registered by the respective boards, together with the
comparative data showing the increase/decrease in the number and
percentage of the voters registered thereat in the May 14, 1984 Batasang
Pambansa elections. The Commission on Elections shall publish in a
newspaper of national circulation a summary of the aforementioned
information classified on the basis of provinces, cities and
municipalities, and shall also furnish a copy thereof to the
representatives of the majority party and the dominant opposition party.

SECTION 7. Meeting to close the list of voters before election. -
The board of election inspectors shall also meet on January 16, 1986
for the purpose of making such inclusions, exclusions, and corrections
as may be or 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 polling place.

Should the board fail to include in the list of voters any person
ordered by a 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.

After the meeting of the board to close the list of voters as provided
for in this section, the board shall prepare a list of the inclusions,
exclusions and/or corrections, if any, and furnish copies of such list
duly signed by all its members to the respective representatives of the
majority party and the dominant opposition party in such board.

SECTION 8. Inclusion and exclusion proceedings. - The
candidates and their respective political parties shall have up to
January 31, 1986 within which to file inclusion and exclusion
proceedings.

SECTION 9. Accreditation of dominant opposition party. - For
purposes of the special election herein provided, the dominant
opposition party shall be that registered political party, organization,
aggroupment or coalition which nominated a candidate for President and
Vice-President.

(1) In case more than one registered political party, organization,
aggroupment or coalition presented an official candidate for President
and Vice-President, the Commission on Elections shall require them to
agree on the nomination of a common representative in the board of
election inspectors, board of canvassers, printing committee and other
similar bodies.

(2) Should the various opposition political parties, organizations,
aggroupment or coalitions fail to come to an agreement, the Commission
on Elections shall then determine which among them shall be the dominant
opposition party based on but not limited to the following guidelines:

a. Potential of the political party, organization, aggroupment of
coalition into becoming a national party as evidenced by the number of
its Members in the Batasang Pambansa, as well as by the size and the
strength of its party organization.
b. Capability of the political party, aggroupment or coalition to
wage a bona fide nationwide campaign for its presidential and
vice-presidential nominees, as evidenced by its organization, the
stature of its candidates and the number and strength of the political
parties in the coalition or aggroupment.
c. Bailiwicks or areas of political support.
d. Platform or program of government distinguishing the political
party, aggroupment or coalition from the other political entities on
ideology and orientation.
e. The record of the political entity concerned in the matter of its
adherence to constitutional provisions on elections.

(3) The Commission on Elections shall accredit the dominant
opposition party not later than fourteen working days before the first
registration day.

SECTION 10. Date of proclamation. - The proclamation of the
winners in this special election shall take place within fifteen session
days from the day the Batasang Pambansa starts the canvass, unless the
delay is occasioned by justifiable cause.

SECTION 11. Prohibited arrests in connection with the election
campaign. - The provisions on prohibited arrest and/or detentions
in connection the election campaign, including the penalties for
violation thereof, as provided under the Omnibus Election Code of the
Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881) shall be applicable to the special
election provided in this Act.

SECTION 12. Prohibited acts and penalties for election offenses.
- The provisions on prohibited acts, the penalties therefor and their
prosecution under the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines (Batas
Pambansa Blg. 881) shall be applicable to the special election provided
in this Act.

SECTION 13. Powers and authority of the Commission on Elections.
- The Commission on Elections is hereby empowered to issue rules and
regulations implementing the provisions of this Act and, pursuant to
Article XII (C) of the Constitution and the Omnibus Election Code of the
Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881), to adopt such measures as may be
necessary to ensure the holding of a free, honest, orderly and credible
election.

Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to deprive the Commission on
Elections of its powers or relieve it of its obligation to ensure the
equitable protection of the rights and prerogatives of registered
political parties for the purpose of holding a free, honest, orderly and
credible election.

SECTION 14. Applicability of the Omnibus Election Code of the
Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881). - All other aspects of this
special election not covered by any provision of this Act shall be
governed by the pertinent provisions of the Omnibus Election Code of the
Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881)

SECTION 15. Appropriations. - The amount of two hundred
million pesos or so much thereof as may be necessary to carry out the
purposes of this Act is hereby set aside out of the appropriations for
special activities fund authorized in the Calendar Year 1985 and
Calendar Year 1986 General Appropriations Acts.

The chairman and the poll clerk of the board of election inspectors,
the inspectors of the political parties, the education support personnel
of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, and the supervisors,
principals and other administrators of the said ministry who may be
asked by the Commission on Elections and actually report for supervisory
assignment during registration and election days, including provincial,
city and municipal treasures shall be entitled to per diems at rates
fixed in the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa
Blg. 881).

The chairmen, poll clerks, and party representatives shall be insured
with the Government Service Insurance System, in accordance with the
provisions of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines (Batas
Pambansa Blg. 881).

SECTION 16. Separability clause. - If for any reason any
section or provision of this Act or any portion thereof, or the
application of such section, provision or portion to any person, group
or circumstance, is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder
of this Act or the application of such provision to other persons,
groups or circumstances shall not be affected by such declaration.

SECTION 17. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect upon
its approval.

Approved, December 3, 1985.

Source: Supreme Court E-Library