An Act to Submit to the Filipino People, for Approval or Disapproval, the Amendments to the Constitution of the Philippines and to the Ordinance Appended Thereto Proposed by the National Assembly in Resolutions Adopted on September Fifteen, Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-Nine, and to Appropriate Funds Therefor

September 19, 1939

COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 492

AN ACT TO SUBMIT TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE, FOR APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL, THE AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES AND TO THE ORDINANCE APPENDED THERETO PROPOSED BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON SEPTEMBER FIFTEEN, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINE, AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS THEREFOR

SECTION 1. The amendments to the Ordinance appended to the Constitution of the Philippines proposed by the National Assembly in its Resolution Numbered Thirty-nine, adopted September fifteen, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, shall be submitted to the Filipino people for approval or disapproval at a general election to be held throughout the Philippines on Tuesday, October twenty-four, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine; and the amendments to the said Constitution proposed in its Resolution Numbered Thirty-eight, adopted on the same date, shall be submitted at the following election of local officials. CScTDE

The provisions of sections two, three, and six of this Act shall be applicable to the latter election, except that the publication and the posting of notices required shall be accomplished at least thirty days prior to the date of the said election.

SECTION 2. The amendments to the said Ordinance shall be published in English and in Spanish in three consecutive issues of the Official Gazette at least ten days prior to the election. A printed copy thereof shall be posted in a conspicuous place in every municipal and provincial government office building and in every polling place not later than October twenty, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, and shall remain posted therein until after the election. At least ten copies of said amendments shall be kept in each polling place to be made available for examination by the qualified electors during election day. When practicable, copies in the principal native languages, as may be determined by the Secretary of the Interior, shall also be kept therein.

SECTION 3. The election shall be conducted in conformity with the provisions of the Election Code insofar as the same may be applicable.

SECTION 4. The existing boards of election inspectors shall meet, for the revision of the list of voters and for the registration of new ones, on October seven, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine. Each election inspector and poll clerk shall receive two pesos for each day of actual service rendered by him.

Two watchers may be appointed for each polling place by the national directorates of the existing political parties or by their duly authorized representatives.

All judicial proceedings for the inclusion or exclusion of voters shall be filed not later than October fourteen, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, and shall be finally decided on or before October twenty-one of the same year. The boards of election inspectors shall make a final revision of the list of voters during the first hours of election day.

SECTION 5. The ballots which shall be used in the election for the approval or disapproval of the amendments proposed in Resolution Numbered Thirty-nine, and in the election for the approval or disapproval of the amendments proposed in Resolution Numbered Thirty-eight, shall contain a brief summary of the said amendments, shall be printed in both English and Spanish, and shall be in the form to be prescribed by the President of the Philippines.

SECTION 6. The boards of election inspectors shall prepare and sign three copies of the returns of the election in their respective polling places on a form to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. One copy shall be deposited in the ballot box for valid ballots, and the two copies shall be delivered to the proper municipal treasurer, who shall immediately forward, by registered mail, one copy to the Secretary of the National Assembly and the other copy to the Secretary of the Interior.

Within thirty days after the election, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall request the President to call a special session of the Assembly for the purpose of canvassing the returns and certifying the result thereof.

SECTION 7. The sum of three hundred and fifty thousand pesos, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated out of any funds in the Philippine Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the payment, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, of the expenses incurred in connection with the holding of the election, to be held on October twenty-four, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, including the expenses necessary for the printing, publication, posting, and free distribution of copies of the amendments to the Constitution and to the Ordinance appended thereto, in English and in Spanish, and, whenever practicable, in the principal native languages.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, September 19, 1939. cIHCST