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  This web page contains the full text of
COMELEC Resolution No. 3636
 RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9006 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "FAIR ELECTION ACT" FOR THE MAY 14, 2001 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.
 
 
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REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9006
 (FAIR ELECTION ACT)
AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE HOLDING OF FREE, ORDERLY, HONEST, PEACEFUL AND CREDIBLE ELECTIONS THROUGH FAIR ELECTION PRACTICES
 
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RESOLUTION NO. 3636
(Promulgated on 01 March 2001)
 
RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9006 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "FAIR ELECTION ACT" FOR THE MAY 14, 2001 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS.
 
 
Pursuant to Section 13 of Republic Act No. 9006, otherwise known as the "Fair Election Act," the Commission on Elections has RESOLVED to promulgate, as it hereby promulgates the following implementing rules and regulations for the May 14, 2001 National and Local Elections:

Section 1. Definition of Terms. - As used in this resolution:

Sec. 2. Prohibited campaign. - It is unlawful for any person, or for any political party or association of persons to engage in an election campaign or partisan political activity, outside of the campaign periods.

Any election campaign or partisan political activity is prohibited on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, day before election day and on election day.

Sec. 3. Mass media columnist, announcer or personality running for public office or is a campaign volunteer. - Any mass media columnist, commentator, announcer, reporter, on-air correspondent or personality who is a candidate for any elective public office or is a campaign volunteer for or employed or retained in any capacity by any candidate or political party shall be deemed resigned, if so required by their employer, or shall take a leave of absence from his/her work as such during the campaign period: Provided, That any media practitioner who is an official of a political party or a member of the campaign staff of a candidate or political party shall not use his/her time or space to favor any candidate or political party.

Sec. 4. Rallies, meetings and other political activities. - Subject to the requirements of local ordinances on the issuance of permits, any political party supporting official candidates or any candidate, individually or jointly with other aspirants, may hold peaceful political meetings, rallies or other similar activities during the campaign period.

Sec. 5. Application for permit to hold public meetings, rallies or other political activities. - All applications for permits to hold public meetings, rallies and other similar political activities shall be filed with the authorized city or municipal official, who shall acknowledge receipt thereof in writing. Immediately after its filing, the application shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the city hall or municipal building.

The official before whom the application is filed shall submit to the Election Officer on the first working day of each week the list of applications, if any, filed during the previous week and the action taken thereon.

Sec. 6. Action on application. -

Sec. 7. Notice to Election Officer and report on expenses. - Any candidate or political party, organization or coalition intending to organize and hold any public meeting rally or political activity in the city or municipality shall notify the Election Officer concerned thereof and, within seven (7) working days after the said public meeting, rally or activity, submit to said officer a statement of expenses incurred in connection therewith.

Sec. 8. Prohibited acts during public meetings. - It is unlawful for any candidate, political party, organization or any person to give or accept, free of charge, directly or indirectly, transportation, food and drinks, or anything of value during and within the five (5) hours before and after a public meeting, or to give or contribute, directly or indirectly, money or things of value for such purpose.

Sec. 9. Lawful election propaganda. - Election propaganda, whether on television, cable television, radio, newspaper or any other medium is hereby allowed for all registered political parties, sectoral parties, organizations or coalitions participating under the party-list election and for all bona fide candidates seeking national and local elective positions subject to the limitation on authorized expenses of candidates and political parties, observance of truth in advertising.

Lawful election propaganda shall include:

Sec. 10. Petition for authority to use other election propaganda. - Any person seeking authority to use other forms of election propaganda not covered by those enumerated in the immediately preceding section and not prohibited by law may file with the COMELEC a verified petition, in eight (8) legible copies, describing the election propaganda sought to be authorized, with samples thereof.

Upon receipt of the petition, the COMELEC shall set it for hearing and send notice thereof to the petitioner. On the day following the receipt of the notice of hearing, the petitioner shall cause the publication of the petition, together with notice of hearing, in two (2) newspapers of general circulation, notifying the COMELEC of such action.

If the COMELEC authorizes the use of the requested election propaganda, the authorization shall published in two (2) newspapers of general circulation within one week after the authorization has been granted.

Sec. 11. Authorized expenses of candidates and political parties. - The aggregate amount that a candidate or registered political party may spend for election campaign shall be as follows:

Sec. 12. Posting of campaign materials. - Candidates and party-list groups may post any lawful campaign materials in:
Sec. 13. Common poster areas. -  Candidates of political parties, party list groups and independent candidates, upon authority by the Election Officer, may erect, at their expense, common poster areas subject to the following limitations:
In all cases, the parties shall agree among themselves how their individual posters in the common poster area shall be placed. In case no agreement is reached the Election Officer shall determine said placement by drawing of lots.

The Election Officer shall act on the applications within three (3) days from receipt thereof. For this purpose, the Election Officer shall determine whether the proposed sites where the common poster areas will be erected are public places with heavy pedestrian or vehicular traffic, or business or commercial centers, or densely populated areas, and equitably and impartially allocate the sites to ensure maximum exposure of the lawful propaganda materials of all parties, party-list groups and independent candidates.

Any political party, party-list group or independent candidate aggrieved by the action of the Election Officer may appeal the same within two (2) days from receipt of the order of the Election Officer to the Provincial Election Supervisor, or in the case of the National Capital Region to its Regional Election Director, who shall decide the matter within two (2) days from receipt of the appeal, furnishing copies of said decision to the parties concerned and to the Law Department of the COMELEC. The decision shall be final and executory.

Within seven (7) days after the elections, the candidates and party-list groups which applied for the putting up of a common poster area shall tear down the same at their own expense and restore the site into its original condition.

Sec. 14. Requirements for published or printed and broadcast election propaganda.

Sec. 15. Rates of political propaganda. During the election period, media outlets shall charge registered political parties and bona fide candidates a discounted rate of thirty percent (30%) for television, twenty percent (20%) for radio and ten percent (10%) for print over the average rates charged during the first three quarters of the calendar year preceding the elections.

Sec. 16. Persons authorized to incur election expenditures. No person, except the candidate, the treasurer of a political party, or any person authorized by said candidate or political party, shall make an expenditure in support of or in opposition to any candidate or political party.

The authority of any person to incur election expenditures for or on behalf of any candidate or political party shall be in writing, signed by the candidate or treasurer of the political party, and shall state the full name and exact address of said representative and the expenditures so authorized. A copy of such authority shall be attached to the statement of contributions or expenditures.

Sec. 17. Equal access to media time and space. All candidates shall have equal access to media time and space subject to the following guidelines:

Sec. 18. COMELEC space and time. -  The COMELEC shall, subject to availability of funds, procure print space and air time, for the following purposes:
    A. For announcing candidacies for national offices
       
    For purposes of the May 14, 2001 elections, the first day when candidates may announce their candidacies shall be on the third week of the campaign period.
Sec. 19. Report of contractors or business firms. - Every printer, manufacturer, seller or other person or firm to whom an election expenditure for election propaganda is made, shall, within thirty (30) days after the date of the election, file with the COMELEC a report setting forth the full name and exact address of every candidate, treasurer, or the political party or other person making such expenditure, the nature or purpose of each expenditure, and the date and cost thereof. The report shall be signed and sworn to by the contractor or dealer or, in case of a business firm or association by its president or general manager (See Annex"C" for sample form).

It shall be the duty of the person or firm to whom an election expenditure is made to require every person making an expenditure for and in behalf of a candidate or political party to present and submit a written authority to incur said expenditures, and to keep and preserve at its place or business, subject to inspection by the COMELEC or its authorized representatives, copies of such written authority, contract, vouchers, invoices and other records or documents relative to said expenditures for a period of three (3) years after the date of the election.

It is unlawful for any supplier, contractor or business firm to enter into any contract involving election expenditures with representatives of candidates or political parties who do not have such written authority.

Sec. 20. Removal, destruction or defacement of lawful election propaganda prohibited. -During the campaign period it is unlawful for any person to remove, destroy, obliterate or, in any manner, deface or tamper with, or prevent the distribution of any unlawful election propaganda enumerated in Sec. 9 hereof.

Sec. 21. Prohibited forms of election propaganda. -

Sec. 22. Removal, confiscation or destruction of prohibited election propaganda materials. - Any prohibited form of election propaganda materials shall be summarily confiscated, removed, destroyed or torn down by any representative of the COMELEC, at the expense of the candidate, political party, sectoral party, organization or coalition, or person responsible for the prohibited election propaganda.

Any person, political party, sectoral party, organization or coalition, association, agency, office, bureau or department of the government may file with the COMELEC, through its field office, a petition to confiscate, remove, destroy and/or stop the distribution of any propaganda material on the ground that the same is offensive to public morals, libelous, illegal, prohibited, subversive or irrelevant to the election issues.

The COMELEC, after the summary hearing, shall resolve the petition within six (6) hours from the time it is submitted for decision. Where the parties concerned cannot be contacted or are unknown or refuse to appear at the hearing, the COMELEC may decide the petition ex parte.

The COMELEC, motu proprio, may immediately order the removal, destruction and/or confiscation of any prohibited propaganda material, or those materials which contain statements or representations that are illegal, prohibited, patently libelous, offensive to public morals, subversive or which tend to incite sedition or rebellion.

Sec. 23. Right to reply. -  All registered parties and bona fide candidates shall have the right to reply to charges published against them. Their reply shall be given publicity by the newspaper, television and/or radio station which first printed or aired the charges with the same prominence or in the same page or section or in the same time slot as the first statement.

Sec. 24. Election surveys. - During the election period, any person, whether natural or juridical, candidate or organization may conduct an election survey. The survey shall be published with the following information:

Sec. 25. Exit polls. - Exit polls may only be taken subject to the following requirements:
Sec. 26. Effect of filing certificate of candidacy by elective officials. - Any elective official, whether national or local, who has filed a certificate of candidacy for the same or any other office, shall not be considered resigned from his office.

Sec. 27. Substitution of candidates. - In case of valid substitutions after the official ballots have been printed, the votes cast for the substituted candidates shall be considered as stray votes but shall not invalidate the whole ballot. For this purpose, the official ballots shall provide spaces where the voters may write the name of the substitute candidates if they are voting for the latter: Provided, however; That if the substitute candidate is of the same family name, this provision shall not apply.

Sec. 28. Deputation. - (a) The Commission hereby deputizes the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters ng Pilipinas (KBP), Philippine Internet Service Operators (PISO), Philippine Association of Private Telephone Companies (PAPTELCO), and the Telecommunication Operators of the Philippines (TOP) to conduct, in coordination with the Education and Information Department, regular information campaign on the proper use of any medium of communication, including the broadcast and transmission of information, during the campaign period.

(b) The Commission hereby deputizes local government units to prevent, remove, destroy, confiscate or tear down any prohibited propaganda materials.

Sec. 29. Election offense. - Violation of R. A. 9006 and these rules shall constitute an election offense punishable under the first and second paragraphs of Sec. 264 of the Omnibus Election Code. Any aggrieved party may file a verified complaint for violation of these rules with the Law Department of COMELEC.

Sec. 30. Effectivity. - This resolution shall take effect on the seventh day after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Sec. 31. Dissemination. -  The Education and Information Department shall cause the publication of this resolution in two (2) newspapers of general circulation, and furnish copies thereof at all field offices of the COMELEC, and to the presidents or secretaries of all registered political parties, organizations or coalition.

 

(Sgd.) ALFREDO L. BENIPAYO, Chairman
(Sgd.) LUZVIMINDA G. TANCANGCO, Commissioner
(Sgd.) RUFINO S.B. JAVIER, Commissioner
(Sgd.) RALPH C. LANTION, Commissioner
(Sgd.) MEHOL K. SADAIN, Commissioner
(Sgd.) RESURRECCION Z. BORRA, Commissioner
(Sgd.) FLORENTINO A. TUAZON JR., Commissioner
 
 
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