REPUBLIC ACT No. 3588
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR PERMANENT REGISTRATION OF VOTERS AND FOR THIS PURPOSE TO POSTPONE THE GENERAL RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION OF VOTERS WHICH IS SET FOR NINETEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE.
Section 1. Permanent list of voters. There shall be a permanent list of voters in each city, municipality and municipal district.
Section 2. Who may be registered in the Permanent List of Voters. All persons possessing all the qualifications prescribed for a voter and none of the disqualifications, have the right and duty to be registered in the permanent list of voters of the city, municipality or municipal district wherein they are domiciled and to be included in the precinct book of voters of their corresponding precinct.
Any person who may not have on the date of his registration the period of domicile required may also be registered upon proof that on the date of the election he shall have such qualification.
Section 3. Election Registrar. There shall be in each city, municipality and municipal district at least one election registrar and a clerk appointed by the Commission on Elections. The salaries for the positions of election registrar and clerk in the city, municipality and municipal district shall be at such rates as may be determined by the position classification to be made by the commission on elections; Provided, however, That in any city, municipality and municipal district having four thousand registered voters or less, the Commission on Elections may at its discretion appoint an election registrar, attach it to another political subdivision for purposes of registration, or appoint the city, municipal or municipal district treasurer as election registrar with additional compensation to be fixed by the Commission on Elections but not to exceed fifty per cent of his salary as treasurer.
The city, municipal or municipal district council, as the case may be, shall provide a place for the office of the registrar.
Section 4. Qualification of Election Registrar. Except in the case mentioned in the proviso of Section three hereof, only members of the Philippine Bar may qualify for appointment as election registrar: Provided, That if there are no lawyers available for appointment, graduates of duly recognized schools of law, liberal arts and education who are civil service eligibles may be appointed.
Section 5. Registration of voters. On any date, within sixty days after having acquired the qualifications of a voter, but not later than sixty days before the day of any regular election and not later than thirty days before the day of any special election, a qualified elector shall personally appear before the election registrar of his city, municipality or municipal district wherein he is domiciled and file with him a sworn application for registration in triplicate.
To facilitate filing of applications for registration, the election registrar may hold office in any district, barrio or sitio within his jurisdiction, without any travelling allowance, subject to the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission on Elections. Any person who fails to register within sixty days after having acquired the qualifications of a voter or is registered after said period shall not be qualified to vote in the election immediately following his registration.
Section 6. Application for registration. The sworn application for registration shall contain three specimens of the applicant's signature and his passport or identification photograph, which shall be at the expense of the government if the applicant should so request, and shall state the following:
(a) name, surname and middle and/or maternal surname:
(b) place of birth;
(c) age on his last birthday;
(d) Philippine citizenship;
(e) civil status, if married, the name of the spouse;
(f) profession, occupation or work;
(g) exact address with the name of the street, the house number or in case there be none, a brief description of the locality and place;
(h) that he possesses the qualifications required of an elector;
(i) that he is not disqualified to vote;
(j) that he is not registered in any other precinct, otherwise, he shall state the precinct number and the city, municipality or municipal district in which he previously registered, and attach thereto his sworn application for the cancellation of such previous registration;
(k) the prints of all his ten fingers;
(l) space shall be provided upon the face of the application for the notation of the voting record of the person registered thereon;
(m) such other information or data which the Commission on Elections may require.
Section 7. Approval or disapproval of application and petition for inclusions. Upon receipt of the sworn application for registration, the election registrar shall set it for hearing, notice of which shall be posted in the municipal building for at least three days before the hearing. On the date of the hearing, the election registrar shall receive whatever evidence that may be submitted for or against the application. The election registrar shall decide within ten days from filing, all applications submitted to him and issue the corresponding identification card to the registered voter.
If the election registrar disapproves the application the applicant shall be furnished with a certificate of disapproval wherein the ground for the disapproval shall be stated. The applicant may within fifteen days from the receipt of the certification of disapproval file wit the Justice of the Peace Court or the Court of First Instance of the province a petition for his inclusion, which shall be decided within fifteen days after filing. If the decision is for the inclusion of a voter in the permanent list of voters, the election registrar shall activate the application for registration which has been previously denied, by placing said application in the corresponding precinct book of voters wherein the order of inclusion by the court shall be entered and shall mail or deliver to the voter his identification card. If the decision is adverse, the right of appeal as heretofore granted by existing laws shall be available.
Section 8. Challenge of right to register. Any elector or representative of any political party of the city, municipality or municipal district may appear before the election registrar to oppose or challenge any application for registration stating the ground therefor. The challenge shall be under oath and shall be attached by the election registrar to the application together with proof of notice to the challenger and the voter of the date set for hearing.
Section 9. Publication of application for registration. Within two days from approval or disapproval of any application for registration, the election registrar shall post a notice in the municipal building giving the name and address of the applicant and the date of the application and the action taken on the application.
Section 10. Preparation of precinct Book of Voters. The election registrar shall prepare the precinct book of voters of each precinct which shall consist of all the original copies of the approved applications of voters for registration arranged alphabetically belonging to the same precinct, in a suitable binder or device.
Each precinct book of voters, before delivery to the board of inspectors shall be duly sealed and certified by the election registrar that the approved applications contained therein, stating the exact number, are complete for the precinct. The election registrar shall deliver this precinct book of voters to the chairman of the board of inspectors at the same time the board takes delivery of its official ballots, for the use of the board during the voting and which shall be returned to the election registrar for his custody at the same time the statement of election returns are delivered. Thirty days before a regular election and ten days before a special election, all precinct book of voters shall be sealed and shall not be available for examination by the public.
Section 11. Permanent list of voters of each city, municipality or municipal district. The approved qualifications of registration contained in all the precinct books of voters of the city, municipality or municipal district shall comprise the permanent list of voters of said city, municipality or municipal district.
Section 12. Provincial Central File of Registered Voters. The duplicate copies of all approved applications for registration shall immediately be sent to the Provincial Central File of Registered Voters which shall be under the custody and supervision of the election registrar assigned in the capital. These applications shall be arranged alphabetically by city, municipality or municipal district and shall be open during office hours to the public with legitimate inquiries for purposes of election.
Section 13. National Central File of Registered Voters. The triplicate copies of all approved applications for registrations shall immediately be sent to the Commission on Elections. These applications shall be arranged alphabetically by city, municipality or municipal district and shall be open during office hours to the public with legitimate inquiries for purposes of election.
Section 14. Voter's Identification. The voter's identification card shall serve and be considered as document for the identification of each registered voter.
No extra copy or duplicate of the voter's identification card shall be prepared and issued except upon authority of the Commission on Elections.
The voter's identification card shall be subject at any time to examination, charge or renewal by the Commission on Elections, and any registered voter who fails, without cause, after due notice, to surrender his voter's identification card shall be sufficient ground for its cancellation.
Each identification card shall bear the name and address of the voter, his age, sex, civil status, occupation, his passport or identification photograph, thumbmark, number of the precinct where he is registered, his signature and the signature of the registrar.
No fees shall be collected for the issuance of the voter's identification card.
Section 15. Petition for exclusion of voters and decision thereon. Any elector, representative of a political party or the election registrar of the city, municipality or municipal district may at any time except forty-five days before a regular election and twenty-five days before a special election file with the Justice of the Peace Court or the Court of First Instance of the province a sworn petition for exclusion from the permanent list of voters of any voter on the ground that he is qualified, disabled or illegally registered, which petition shall be decided within fifteen days after filing. The right of appeal as provided for in existing laws shall be available to any interested party.
The election registrar upon receipt of the final decision ordering exclusion of a voter shall remove his application from the corresponding precinct book of voters and place said application in the inactive file, wherein the order of exclusion by the court shall be entered.
The election registrar shall submit monthly reports or as often as the Commission on Elections may order, of all cancellations made by him pursuant to court orders, so the corresponding action can be taken on the copies of the application in the Provincial Central File and in the Commission on Elections.
Section 16. Cancellation due to death, conviction, and failure to vote in two successive preceding elections. The election registrar shall remove the voter's application for registration from the corresponding precinct book of voters of the following after entering therein the cause for cancellation and shall place them in the inactive file:
(a) Those who have since died as certified to at the end of each month by the local civil registrar.
(b) Those who have since been sentenced by final judgment to suffer an imprisonment of not less than one year or found guilty of having violated their allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines as certified to at the end of each month by the clerk of court, the clerk of the municipal court in chartered cities and the justice of the peace.
(c) Those who did not vote in the two successive preceding regular elections as shown by the voting records of each voter after the holding of an election.
The election registrar shall notify by mail or by personal delivery the registered voter of his cancellation and the ground thereof and require the surrender of his voter's identification card. In cases of death, all notices and requirements shall be directed to the voter's next of kin.
The name cancelled shall be published on the bulletin board immediately stating the reason for the cancellation and shall be reported to the Commission on Elections and the Provincial Central File together with copies of the certified statements of the local civil registrar, the clerk of court, the clerk of the municipal court of chartered cities and the justice of the peace. The Provincial Central File and the Commission on Elections shall accordingly remove the application for registration of the voters and file them in the inactive file after entering in their re- of notice of the decision by the barrio council concerned registration.
Section 17. Cancellation of previous registration. Any registered voter may request for the cancellation of his registration by personally filing a sworn application for said cancellation with the election registrar, who shall proceed to cancel the same and issue the certificate of cancellation to the voter.
Any registered voter who has transferred and acquired a new domicile may request for the cancellation of his previous registration as stated in the first paragraph hereof or by sending by registered mail a sworn application for cancellation of registration in duplicate giving his old and new addresses and enclosing his voter's identification card, or by personally filing said sworn application with the election registrar or his new domicile, who upon receipt thereof shall transmit the same, together with the voter's identification card, to the election registrar of the voter's old domicile.
The election registrar concerned shall upon receipt of the application for cancellation of registration remove his application for registration from the corresponding book of voters, which shall be placed in the inactive file, and issue the certificate of cancellation to the voter by registered mail or personally. The election registrar shall enter the corresponding notations in the application of registration of said request for cancellation.
The election registrar shall preserve all applications for cancellation and shall report all cancellations made by him under this Section to the Commission on Elections and to the Provincial File Center for their corresponding action. The names of voters cancelled shall be posted in the bulletin board for thirty days.
Section 18. Change of Address of Voter in the Same City, Municipality or Municipal District. Any voter who has changed his address in the same city, municipality or municipal district where he is registered shall immediately notify his election registrar not later than forty-five days before any regular election day and thirty days before a special election day. If the change of address involves a change of precinct, the election registrar shall transfer his application of registration from the precinct book of voters of his old precinct to his new precinct. All changes of address shall be reported to the Commission on Elections and the Provincial Filing Center by the election registrar and he shall immediately notify the voter that his change of address has been noted in his application of registration, together with his precinct number, if new.
Section 19. Adjustment of the Precinct Book of Voters in Case of Division or Merger of Precinct. When a precinct is divided into two or more precincts or certain precincts are merged, the election registrar shall accordingly transfer the application for registration of the voters included in the precinct book of voters of the precinct or precincts affected to the corresponding precinct book of voters of the resulting new or adjusted precinct. All adjustments shall be reported to the Commission on Elections and the Provincial Filing Center for their corresponding action. Voters affected by the adjustment of precincts shall be notified by mail of their new precinct resulting from the adjustment.
Section 20. Publication of the Precinct List of Voters. For the purpose of public information and reference only, thirty days before the day of a regular election and ten days before the day of special election, the election registrar shall furnish the candidates, heads of the national political parties in the city, municipality or municipal district, the Provincial Central File and the Commission on Elections a copy of the certified list of the names and addresses of all the voters in each precinct of the city, municipality or municipal district. Changes in this list shall be distributed in the same manner as supplementary lists.
The election registrar shall also furnish two certified copies of said precinct list to the poll clerk for posting in the polling place and for the use of the board of inspectors on election day.
Section 21. Canvass to Check Registration. The election registrar shall, subject to the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission on Elections, conduct such mail check or house to house canvass or both, without traveling allowances, of the voters of any precinct for the purpose of filing exclusion proceedings.
Section 22. Power of election registrar to administer oaths and issue summons. The election registrar shall have the same powers possessed by justices of the peace to administer oaths, to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum, to swear witnesses, and to compel witnesses to appear and testify, but if the summons is issued at the instance of any private party, the corresponding fees and the expenses incident thereto, shall be paid in advance by said party.
Section 23. Such sums as are necessary to carry out the objectives and purposes of this Act are hereby authorized to be appropriated. The positions created by this Act as well as the sums needed for operating expenses during each fiscal year shall hereafter be included and provided for in the annual Appropriations Act: Provided, however, That the Commission on Elections is hereby authorized to use such sums available from any savings in the appropriation for the nineteen hundred sixty-three election as it may in its discretion deem necessary for the initial expenses to implement the provisions of this Act.
Section 24. Annulment of registry list. Any precinct book of voters not prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Act, or the preparation of which is effected with fraud, bribery, forgery, impersonation, intimidation, force, or any other similar irregularity may, after due notice and hearing, be annulled by the Commission on Elections.
Section 25. The preparation of a new list of voters which in accordance with section ninety-five of Republic Act Numbered One hundred eighty as amended by Republic Act Numbered Five hundred ninety-nine is scheduled for the year nineteen hundred sixty-three is hereby postponed: Provided, That the list of voters for the nineteen hundred sixty-three election shall be prepared in accordance with section one hundred one of the revised election code, to the date that this Act takes effect; on which date the list of voters then existing shall be annulled and every voter shall have to register anew; Provided, That the provision of this section shall not be applicable if the date this Act takes effect falls within less than one year from a general election, in which case this section shall take effect on the first day of January next succeeding said general election.
Section 26. Repealing clause. Provisions of the Revised Election Code, and other laws, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Section 27. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect on January one, nineteen hundred sixty-four: Provided, That section twenty-five hereof shall take effect immediately upon approval of this act.
Approved: June 22, 1963
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