comelec resolution no. 9654

7/28/2019 Comelec Resolution No. 9654

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Republic of the PhilippinesCOMM ISSION ON ELECTIONSManila

GENERtU; INSTRUCTIONS FOR THESPECIAL BOARD OF ELECTIONINSPECTORS, SPECIAL BALLOTRECEPTION AND CUSTODY GROUPS,SPECIAL BOARD OF CANVASSERS INTHE CONDUCT OF MANUAL FIELDVOTING, COUNTING ANDCANVASSING OF VOTES UNDERREPUBLIC ACT NO. 9189,OTH ERWIS E IUVOWN LCTHEO V E R S F ? ABSENTEE VOTING ACTOF 2003" FOR PURPOSES OF THEMAY 13, 2013 NATIONAL AND LOCALELECTIONS IN I~OROR,PU OR INOTHER POSTS THAT WERE CLOSEDPUISUANT TO DEPARTMENT ORDERNO. 17-12 ON JULY 1, 2012 ISSUED BYTHE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGNAFFAIRS.

RRILLANTES, IXTO JR. S., ChairmanTAGLE,LUCENITO N., CommissionYUSqPH. ELIAS R., X ommissionLIMYCHRISTIAN ROBERT S., CommissionPADACA,MARIA G'RACIA CIELO. Commission

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: RESOLUTION NO.

WHEREAS, the Commission on Elections promulgated Comelec Resolution No. 9617otherwise lcnown as the "General Instruct ionsJor the Special Board of Canvassers in theConduct of Manual Canvassing of Votes zlntler Republic Act No. 9189, otherwiseknown as " The Oberseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003" or purposes of the May 13,2013 National and Local Elections"; and Comelec Resolution No. 9618 otherwise known as"General Instructions for the Special Board of Inspectors and Special Ballot Receptionand Custody Group in the Conduct of Manzial Voting and Counting of Votes underRepublic Act No. 9189, otherwise knoton as " The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of2003" or pzlrposes of theM a y 13, 2013 National and Local Elections" both promulgatedon January 16,2013.

WHEREAS, the Department of Foreign Affairs @FA) issued Department Order No.17-12 on July 1, 20i2 which identified the Philippine Embassies and Consulates General forclosure and transferring the geographical j~risdictionof the closed Posts to other PhilippineForeign Service Po& @P). These closed Posts and the Philippine Foreign Service Posts towhich the geographi&d jurisdiction were transferred, are as follows:

Closed Pos tsPCGBarcelonaPECarapsPE DublinPE &ror

FSP with g e o ~ p h i c a lur isdict ionPEMadridPE MexicoPE ndonDFAManil s--

POGl?mkfiIrt I PE Berlin -- I


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WHEREAS, due t o closure of said Posts, there is a need to address the administrativeand operational aspects in the conduct of elections in the.said places to ensure that theregistered overseas voters in the said places will be able to participate in the May 13, 2013National and Local Elections:

PE StockholmFE ~u chare sf~ ~ ~ a v a n aPEHelsinld-P(X a i h

W H E R ~ ,n order to allow more overseas vpters to b e able to participate in theelection, talcing into consideration the efficiency of the coumtry's mailing system and the rightof overseas voters t4 exercise their right of suffrage this coming May 13,2013, upon favorablerecommendation of Department of Foreign Affairs, verseas Voting Secretariat@FA-OVS), theCommission, through the Chairman of Committee on Overseas Voting (COV), may allow theconduct of field voting in some of the aforementioned closed Posts.

PEOsloFEBudapestPEMexjcoPEWarsawPOGAgana

WHEREFQRE, the Cornmission on Elections pursuant to the authority vested in it bythe Constitution, Batas Parnbansa Blg. 881 (Omnibus Hection Code), Republic Act No. 8189,Republic Act No. 9189 m e Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003)~RepublicAct No. 9369 andother election laws, RESOLVED, as it hereby E$l3SOLVES, to promulgate the followingGeneral Instnlctions for the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBW,Special Ballot Receptionand Custody Group TSBlWZ) and Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC), in the conduct of fieldvoting, counting and'canvassing of votes in areas affected by the said closure of Posts.

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Section I. Fneral guidelines. - Subject to the favourable recommendation ofthe DFA-OVS, the Commission, tlxough the Chairman of the COV, may allow the conduct offield voting in the Posts that were closed. . .Sec. 2. ~ o & ef Voting.- For purposes of the conduct of field voting, a modifiedpostal voting, as pro*ded under Sec.42 of Comelec Resolution No. 9618 shall be adopted in thePosts that were clos6d.Sec. 3. P e ~ ' o dor casting of votes dtrring thefield voting. - Casting ofvotes shall be for a i)eriod of seven (7) calendar days beginning at 8: 00 o'clock in themorning of May 6, 2013, local time of the host countryuntil 7:oo o'clock in theevening of May 13, 2013, Philippine time inclusive of all established holidays in thePhilippines and suchbther holidays in the host countriesSec. 4. Co hst itution of Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI)and other deputized personnel. - For purposes of the conduct of field voting andcounting, the DFA-OVS shall recommend to COV for appointment, four (4)DFA personnel, one

(1) of them shall be deputized as Head of the "OV Contingent" and the three (3) others a smembezs of the SBEt for voting and co~mting.Additional SBEI for counting shall be constitutedas provided under Section 50 of Comelec Resolution No. 9618not later than April 5 ,20 13.

Sec. 5. Duties of the SBEI. - The SBQ: shall perform the duties and functionsenumerated under Sec. 13 of Comelec Resolution No. 9618. It shall ensure tha t the conduct offield voting will not compromise the security, integrity and sanctity of the voting process.See. 6. Dzities of the DFA-OVS. - n the conduct of field voting, the DFA-OVSshall ensure the following:

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a. To se6w-e the necessary authorization from the host government to allow theconduct of field voting;4 2


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b. To ensure that the conduct of field voting will impact upon a significant numberof registered overseas voters in the concerned places;c. Widely disseminate the schedules and places where field voting will becondticted prior to and during the conduct of field voting;d. To mobilize the Filipino community in t l ~ e reas in order to maximize theoverskas voters participation in the conduct of field voting;e. To ensure the security and safety of the members of the "OVContingent"aswellas t he security and sanctity of the ballots and other election paraphernalia.

S e c . 7 . Eleption form s, docum ents and supplies. - The SBE shall receivefrom the Commjssion, through the COV, the election fob, documents and supplies for its useas enumerated under Section21 of Comelec Resolution No. 9618.S e c . 8. prepal-ation of election documents. - The COV s l d l prepare suchnumber of electoral paclcets at the "OV Mailing Center" equivalent to the number of registeredvoters in the concerned Posts.Sec . 9 . con ten ts of the electoral packets. - The electoral packet shall containthe following:

Ia. OfEhal Ballot (OVFNo.6); I'

b. Certiified List of Candidates;c. hsthct ions to Voters; '

td. Offidial Ballot Envelope (OVFNo.45); and

\e. paper Seals(OW No. 12).

ISec . lo. Tu rn-o ver of electoral packets to SBEI. - The electoral paclcetsshall be turned over by COV to the SBm not later than May 3, 2013. The SBH shall also

receive from COV the following:a) IvIhiling lists where the serial numbers of the ballots, paper seal andofficial ballot envelope assigned to the individual voter are reflected;b) O ~ N O .-Awhich contains the names of voters and the serial numbers of

thkballots assigned to them; andc) ~ & n e dopy of the application form of the voter concerned where hissignature appears, in the absence of the signature of said voter in OVFNo. 2-A .

S e c . 11. Manner of distribu tion of electoral pack ets. - The SBEt shall beresponsible in the &b~~ti on of electoral paclzets intended for the overseas voters. Theplaces/areas where !the electoral paclcets will be distriiuted must be communicated to theComrnjssion, through the DFA-OVS, not later than M a y 6,2013.Sec. 12.w n n e r of vo tin g. - The voter shall follow the procedures outlinedunder Section43 of Resolution No. 9618.Sec . 13. CiDunting site. - The counting of votes shall be conducted at thedesignated office/pla'ce at the Department of ForeignAffairs, Main Office, PasayCityir d 3


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Forthispurpose, the SBFI, thro~ighhe DFA-OVS, sh d , not later than April 30 , 2013,inform the COV of the complete ad&- of the place where the countingwill be conducted.The COV, i&fiwn shall notify each candidate, political party or coalition of political

parties fielding -&dates for Senator and political parties, organizations or coalitions thereofparticipating under fhe party-list system of representation of the date, time and completeaddress of the place where the countingwillbe conducted.Sec. 14.Determination of number of SBEIs to condzcct the counting ofvotes. - On the basis of total number of voters who actually voted, the head of thecontingent, shall determine the number of SFEkwhich will conduct the counting of votes at therate of one (1) SBEl for every five hundred (500) ballots.

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In cases where the last ballot box shall contain less than five hundred (500) ballots,another SBEIshall be constituted. In no case shall one SBHcount more than five hundred (500)ballots.i

The SBEI fo i voting shall also act a s SBEIs for counting.Sec. 1.5.Manner of counting. - mmediately after the close of voting on May13, 2013, 7:0 0 o'clock in th e evening, Philippine time, the Head of the Contingent

and members of tllejSEEI shall seal the receptacle containing the envelopes with accomplishedballots and records the proceedings in the Minutes of Vbting. They shall immediately departKoror, Palau for Manila, Philippines taking the firstand direct flight available and proceed to thecounting site.The provisions of Sections 55, 56 and 57 of Comelec Resolution No. 9618 shall beobserved by the SBH in the counting of votes.Sec. 16. Constitu tion of Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC). - Forpurposes of canvassing the results from Koror, pa la^^, the DFA-OVS shall, not later than April30, 2013, recommend to the COV at least three (3)DFApersomel who shall be appointed asmembers of the SBOC.

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AllElection Pet '~miom all other closed Posts that conducted a field modified postalvoting, shall be canvassed by the SBOC of the Post Which has geographical jurisdiction over theplace.SEC.17. Ndtice of Canvass. - The Chairman of the SBOC shall give notice to itsmembers, and natiohal candidates for Senators, and political parties, organizations, association,sectors or coalitions participating under the party-list system of the time, date and place ofcanvass, at least fivet5) days before the day of the election.SEC. 18. Cbnvening of SBOC. - The SB0C for Koror, Palau shall convene notlater than 7:00 07c$oclcn the evening of May 13, 2013 in the designated office in theDepartment of Foreign Affairs, Manila and proceed with the canvass of the elections returnssubmitted to it by the SBHs. It shall not adjourn until the canvassis completed.Sec. 11). AppZicabilitr~ of other election lazus and COMELECResolutions. - The pertinent provisions of the Omnibus Election Code, as amended andother election laws,Pwhich are not in conflict with the provisions of the Overseas AbsenteeVotingAct of 2003 includingCOMEUXResolution Nos. 9617 and 9618 shall remain in full force,and shall have suppletory application of these Rules.

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Sec. 2 0 . Enforcement and administration by the Commission.-- TheComnission, for thejpurpose of ensuring honest, orderly, peaceful and free elections abroad,shall have exclusive~charge.of he enforcement, adminisbation and implementation of the .LAC . ,


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Overseas Absentee VotingAct of 2003.Sec. 21. Dissemination.- The Education and Information Department shall causethe publication of this Resolution in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in thePhilippines and to furnish the D e p m e n t of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor andbployrnent, Department of Transportation and Communications, Philippine PostalCorporation, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Worker's WelfareAdministration, &&on on Overseas Filipinos, the Foreign Service Institute, th e SocialSecurity System and other government agencies concerned with the welfare of mipinosoverseas.Sec. 22 . Eflectiviw. - These General hstmctions shall take effect on the seventh ;day after itspublicadon in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

CHRISTIANROBERT S. LIMCornmissioner Commissioner

comelec resolution no. 9654

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