Special Election for President and Vice-President

December 3, 1985

BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 883

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

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. cd

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. cdt

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. cd

(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. cd

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. cd i

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) acd

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 treasurers 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 casia

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 81 No. 49 Page 5783 on December 9, 1985.