Presidential Decree No. 1244 (PD 1244) — Setting an Additional Day for Registration of Qualified Voters in the Voting Centers.

Preamble

WHEREAS, the Commission on Elections has reported that more than 27% (or about 6.2 million) of the qualified voters have not yet registered notwithstanding past efforts to register them and that as a consequence thereof, the Commission recommended that an additional day be set aside to enable these unregistered voters to register in the voting centers; WHEREAS, to assure that the results of any referendum, plebiscite or election reflect the true will of the people, the registration of voters must be maximized; NOW, THEREFORE. I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution, do hereby decree:

Additional day for registration in voting centers.

Section 1

SECTION 1. Additional day for registration in voting centers.—Qualified voters who have not registered shall register in the voting centers on November 27, 1977 from seven o'clock in the morning to seven o'clock in the evening: Provided, however, That for purposes of this Decree, in cities, municipalities and municipal districts where the number of still unregistered voters may be listed under the continuing system without resort to the registration in the voting centers, the Commission on Elections is authorized to order the use of the continuing system only: Provided, further, Where there are still a large number of applicants for registration in the premises of the voting center at the time of closing the Citizens Registration Committee may extend registration beyond seven o'clock in the evening until all the persons therein present are registered.

Voting Centers.

Section 2

SEC. 2. Voting Centers.—The registration of voters herein provided shall be undertaken in the same barangay registration centers and by the Citizen's Registration Committees that functioned in the previous registration days under Presidential Decree No. 1187, as amended.

Rules and Regulations.

Section 3

SEC. 3. Rules and Regulations.—The Commission on Elections is hereby authorized to promulgate the rules and regulations to implement this decree.

Effectivity.

Section 4

SEC. 4. Effectivity.— This decree shall take effect immediately. DONE in the City of Manila, this 18th day of November, in the year of Our Lord nineteen hundred and seventy-seven.