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This
web page contains the full text ofRepublic
Act No. 7056 AN
ACT PROVIDING FOR THE NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS IN 1992, PAVING THE
WAY FOR SYNCHRONIZED AND SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS BEGINNING 1995, AND
AUTHORIZING
APPROPRIATIONS THEREFOR.
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REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7056 AN
ACT PROVIDING FOR THE NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS IN 1992, PAVING THE
WAY FOR SYNCHRONIZED AND SIMULTANEOUS ELECTIONS BEGINNING 1995, AND
AUTHORIZING
APPROPRIATIONS THEREFOR.
Section 1.
Statement of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to start,
as
much as practicable, the synchronization of the elections so that the
process
can be completed in the 1995 elections with the result that beginning
1995
there shall be only one (1) simultaneous regular elections for national
and local elective officials once every three (3) years.
Sec. 2. Start
of Synchronization. - To start the process of synchronization of
elections
in accordance with the policy herein before declared, there shall be
held:
(a) An
election
for President and Vice-President of the Philippines, twenty-four (24)
Senators,
and all elective Members of the House of Representatives on the second
Monday of May 1992; and
(b) An
election
of all provincial, city, and municipal elective officials on the second
Monday of November 1992.
Sec. 3. Term
of Office. - The President, the Vice-President, and the Senators
shall
have a term of office of six (6) years beginning at the noon of the
30th
day of June next following their elections: Provided, however,
That,
of the twenty-four (24) Senators to be elected on the second Monday of
May 1992, the first twelve (12) obtaining the highest number of votes
shall
serve for six (6) years and the remaining twelve, for three years.
The Members
of the House of Representatives and all elective provincial, city, and
municipal officials shall serve for a term of three years which shall
begin
at noon on the 30th day of June next following elections: Provided,
however, That, in view of the many difficult if not insurmountable
problems to a full and immediate synchronization of all elections on
the
second Monday of May 1992, all incumbent provincial, city, and
municipal
officials shall hold over beyond the 30th day of June 1992 and serve
until
their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified. The tenure
of the newly elected local officials shall start at noon of November
30,
1992.
No Vice-President
shall serve for more than two (2) consecutive terms.
No Senator shall
serve for more than two (2) consecutive terms.
No Member of
the House of Representatives shall serve for more than three (3)
consecutive
terms.
No elective
provincial, city, or municipal official shall serve for more than three
(3) consecutive terms.
Voluntary renunciation
of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an
interruption
in the continuity of his service for the full term for which he was
elected.
Sec. 4. Full
Synchronization of Elections. - (a) The regular elections for the
President
and Vice-President of the Philippines shall be held on the second
Monday
of May 1992 and on the same day for every period of six (6) years
thereafter;
and
(b) The regular
election of twelve (12) Senators, all Members of the House of
Representatives,
and the elective provincial city, and municipal officials shall be held
on the second Monday of May 1995, and on the same day for every period
of three (3) years thereafter.
Sec. 5. Election
of Provincial, City, and Municipal Members of the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan,
Sangguniang Panlungsod, and Sangguniang Bayan by Districts. - To
reduce
the number of positions to be voted for, which is one of the problems
preventing
immediate and full synchronization of elections in May 1992, for better
representation, and to ensure free, orderly, honest, and less expensive
elections, the elective members of the sangguniang panlalawigan,
sangguniang
panlungsod, and sangguniang bayan shall be elected by the qualified
voters
of their respective districts as follows:
Beginning
with
the 1992 elections:
(a) The
number
of elective councilors or sangguniang panlungsod members in the Metro
Manila
area, the City of Cebu, City of Davao and any other city with two (2)
or
more representative districts shall continue to be governed by the
provisions
of Sections 2 and 3 of Republic Act No. 6636: Provided, That,
the
Municipalities of Malabon, Navotas, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa,
Las Pinas, and Taguig shall have twelve (12) councilors, and Pateros,
ten
(10).
(b) For
provinces
with two (2) or more representative districts, the number of elective
members
of the sangguniang panlalawigan shall be equally divided among them; Provided,
That, if equal division is not possible, the remaining member
or members
shall be elected in the district or districts with the greater number
of
voters or, if they be the same, with the greater number of population.
Beginning
with
the 1995 elections:
(a) For
provinces
and cities with only one (1) representative district, the Commission on
Elections shall divide them into two (2) districts for purposes of
provincial
or city representation as nearly as may be according to the number of
inhabitants,
each district comprising a compact, contiguous and adjacent territory,
and the number of elective members of their respective sanggunian shall
be equally divided between the districts in accordance with the
standard
or formula provided in the next preceding section.
(b) The
Commission
on Elections shall apportion the number of elective councilors or
members
of the sangguniang bayan among the duly constituted barangays and
sitios
as nearly as practicable according to the number of their respective
inhabitants,
each councilor district to comprise a compact, contiguous and adjacent
territory: Provided, however, That each councilor district
shall
elect at least two (2) councilors: Provided, further, That, in
case
of any extra member, he shall be elected in the district with greater
number
of population.
No
person shall
be elected member of the sangguniang panlalawigan, sangguniang
panlungsod,
or sangguniang bayan, as the case may be, unless he is an actual
resident
of his district: Provided, however, That an incumbent member of
the sanggunian who competes in the election for the same position may
run
in any district within the municipality, city, or province where he is
a registered candidate.
Sec. 6. Applicability
of the Omnibus Election Code and All Existing Laws Governing Elections.
- The Omnibus
Election Code (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881), Republic
Act No. 6636, Republic
Act No. 6646, and all
existing laws governing or pertaining to elections shall govern and
apply to all elections unless inconsistent with or repealed or modified
by any of the provisions of this Act and subsequent laws.
Sec. 7. Postponement,
Failure of Election and Special Elections. - The postponement,
declaration
of failure of election and the calling of special elections, as
provided
in Sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Omnibus
Election Code (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881) shall be decided only by
the
Commission on Elections sitting en banc by a majority vote of
its
members.
The causes for
the declaration of a failure of election may occur before or after the
casting of the votes or the day of the election.
Sec. 8. Election
and Campaign Periods. - Unless otherwise fixed in special cases by
the Commission on Elections, the election period for regular and
special
elections shall commence ninety (90) days before the day of the
election
and shall end thirty (30) days thereafter.
The campaign
periods for regular and special elections are hereby fixed as follows:
(a) For
Presidential
and Vice-Presidential elections, one hundred twenty (120) days before
the
day of the election;
(b) For
Senatorial
elections, ninety (90) days before the day of the election; and
(c) For
the
election of Members of the House of Representatives and local elective
provincial, city, and municipal officials, forty-five (45) days before
the day of the election.
However, the foregoing
campaign periods shall not include the day before and the end of the
election
day itself, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday during which any kind of
campaigning
is absolutely prohibited.
Any provision
of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any candidate for Senator,
Member
of the House of Representatives or any elective local official may
campaign
for the national candidates of their political parties before their own
campaign periods.
Sec. 9. Nomination
and Selection of Official Candidates. - No political convention or
meeting process for the nomination or selection of the official
candidates
of any political party or organization, or political group, or a
coalition
thereof, shall be held earlier than the following periods:
(a) For
President,
Vice-President and Senators, one hundred eighty (180) days before the
day
of the election; and
(b) For
elective
provincial, city, or municipal officials, ninety days before the day of
the election.
Sec. 10. Filing
of Certificates of Candidacy. - The certificates of candidacy of
any
person running for the office of President, Vice-President, Senator,
Member
of the House of Representatives, or any elective provincial, city, or
municipal
official shall be filed not later than the day legally fixed for the
beginning
of their campaign periods in accordance with the form, manner, and with
the receiving offices or officials provided by existing laws.
Sec. 11. Registration
of New Voters. - There shall be a registration of voters on the
15th
Saturday before the day of the election herein provided for voters who
will reach the age of eighteen (18) years on or before the day of
elections
or for those who failed to register in the last preceding election: Provided,
however, That the Commission on Elections may designate an
additional
date of registration in certain areas upon showing of special reason
therefor
by any interested party.
The board of
election inspectors shall also meet on the 8th Saturday immediately
preceding
the day of the elections for the purpose of making such inclusions,
exclusions
and corrections as may be or may have been ordered by the courts
stating
the date of the order and the court which issued the same and for the
consecutive
numbering of the voters of the election precinct.
The board of
election inspectors must post the final list of voters in each precinct
with each and every page thereof duly signed or subscribed and sworn to
by its members thirty (30) days before the date of the elections and
that
failure to comply with this provision will constitute an election
offense.
Members of the
military, Philippine National Police, and other government officers and
employees who may temporarily be assigned in connection with the
performance
of election duties to places where they are not registered voters, upon
presentation of their voters identification cards to the board of
elections
inspectors concerned, may be allowed to vote in the election precincts
of their assignment for the offices of President, Vice-President, and
Senators
only unless they are registered voters in the district of their
temporary
assignment, in which case they can vote for the office of
Representative.
A list of said
persons shall be prepared by the board of election inspectors in
duplicate.
The original copy shall be transmitted to the Commission on Elections
and
the duplicate copy to the election registrar of the municipality.
Special ballots
may be prepared by the Commission on Elections for their use.
Sec. 12. Rules
and Regulations. - The Commission on Elections shall issue rules
and
regulations to implement this Act. Said rules must be published in at
least
two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Sec. 13. Separability
Clause. - If any provision, or part thereof, of this Act is
declared
unconstitutional, such declaration of unconstitutionality will not
affect
the other provisions of this Act.
Sec. 14. Appropriations.
- The amount of Six hundred million pesos (P600,000,000.00) is hereby
authorized
to be appropriated out of any savings or unexpended balance in the
National
Treasury not otherwise appropriated to cover the costs of holding the
1992
national and local elections. Hereafter, the amounts necessary to fund
subsequent elections shall be included in the General Appropriations
Act
for the corresponding fiscal year.
Sec. 15. Effectivity
Clause. - This Act shall take effect upon the publication of its
official
text, as approved by the President, twice in two (2) newspapers of
general
circulation.
Approved:June
20, 1991.
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