AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR A GENERAL REGISTRATION OF VOTERS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES.

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 1896
• Sections: 50

Section 1 General registration of voters.

SECTION 1. General registration of voters. — There

shall be a general registration of all voters throughout the Philippines in

accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

The lists of voters of every city and municipality prepared in accordance

herewith shall be used in the May 14, 1984 election for Members of the Batasang

Pambansa and every election which may be held thereafter. The existing lists of

voters are hereby declared null and void and without further force and effect

for purposes of voting after the January 27, 1984 national plebiscite.

Section 2 Permanent list of voters every twelve years.

SEC. 2. Permanent list of voters every twelve

years. — There shall be in each city and municipality a permanent list of

voters which shall be completely renewed every twelve years. A new list of

voters shall be prepared for the elections which will be held in nineteen

hundred and eighty-four and said list with such additions, cancellations, and

corrections as may be proper shall constitute the permanent list of voters in

each subsequent election until its renewal in nineteen hundred and

ninety-six.

Section 3 Necessity of registration to be entitled to vote.

SEC. 3. Necessity of registration to be entitled to

vote. — In order that a qualified elector may vote in any election, he must

be registered in the permanent list of voters for the city or municipality in

which he resides.

Section 4 Who may be registered in the list.

SEC. 4. Who may be registered in the list. — All

persons having complied with the requisites herein prescribed for the

registration of voters shall be registered in the list, provided they possess

all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications of a voter. Any person

who may not have on the date of registration the age or period of residence

required may also be registered upon proof that on the date of the election he

shall have such qualifications.

Section 5 Qualifications prescribed for a voter.

SEC. 5. Qualifications prescribed for a voter. —

Every citizen of the Philippines, not otherwise disqualified by law, eighteen

years of age or over, who shall have resided in the Philippines for one year and

in the city or municipality wherein he proposes to vote for at least six months

immediately preceding the election, may register as a voter.

Any person who transfers to another city or municipality solely by reason of

his occupation; profession; employment in private or public service; educational

activities; work in military of naval reservations; service in the army, navy or

air force, the constabulary or national police force; or confinement or

detention in government institutions in accordance with law shall be deemed not

to have lost his original residence. Provided, That he may register as a voter

of the city or municipality where he is residing for the foregoing reasons if on

the date of the election he has already resided therein for at least six

months.

Section 6 Voters in New Settlement Areas.

SEC. 6. Voters in New Settlement Areas. — Residents

relocated to new settlement areas within six months immediately preceding an

election shall be allowed to register in the new place of resettlement.

Section 7 Disqualifications.

SEC. 7. Disqualifications. — The following shall be

disqualified from voting:

Any person who has been sentenced by final judgment to suffer imprisonment

for not less than one year, such disability not having been removed by plenary

pardon: Provided, however, That any person disqualified to vote under this

paragraph shall automatically reacquire the right to vote upon expiration of

five years after service of sentence.

Any person who has been adjudged by final judgment by competent court of

having violated his oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines.

Insane or feeble-minded persons.

Section 8 Registration of voters.

SEC. 8. Registration of voters. — For the

registration of voters in nineteen hundred and eighty-four and every twelve

years thereafter, the citizens election committee of each voting center shall

hold four meetings in the place designated as voting centers on the ninth

Saturday and Sunday and on the eighth Saturday and Sunday before the date of the

regular election to be held. At these meetings, the Committee shall prepare as

provided in this Decree eight copies of the list of voters of the voting

center.

For the May 14, 1984 elections, said meetings shall be held on March 17, 18,

24 and 25, 1984: Provided, That if after the last day of registration the

Commission on Elections should decide that a substantial number of qualified

voters have not registered, it may authorize additional registration days in

order that said voters shall not be deprived of their right of suffrage.

Section 9 Postponement of Registration.

SEC. 9. Postponement of Registration. — When for

any serious cause such as force majeure, violence, terrorism, or other analogous

causes of such a nature, or where there are ongoing military operations that the

holding of the registration on the prescribed dates should become impossible in

any political subdivision, the Commission, after due notice, shall postpone the

registration therein to such time as it may deem necessary or undertake such

other measures necessary in order in effectively implement the provisions of

this Decree.

Section 10 Citizens election committee.

SEC. 10. Citizens election committee. — There shall

be a citizens election committee in every voting center composed of two public

school teachers as chairman and poll clerk, and two members, one representing

the ruling party and the other the dominant opposition party in the province and

its component city or cities; highly urbanized city; and district of

Metropolitan Manila.

Section 11 Qualifications of members of the committee.

SEC. 11. Qualifications of members of the

committee. — No person shall be appointed or shall act as chairman, poll

clerk or member of the committee or substitute therein, unless he is of good

moral character and irreproachable reputation, a qualified voter of the city or

municipality, has never been convicted of any election offense or of any other

crime punishable by more than six months of imprisonment, or if he has pending

against him an information for any election offense. He must be able to speak

and write English or the local dialect.

Section 12 Disqualification of members of the committee.

SEC. 12. Disqualification of members of the

committee. — No chairman, poll clerk or member of the committee shall be

related within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any other

member of the committee. In case of such disqualification, the member or members

concerned shall inform the Commission thereof.

Section 13 Appointment of the members of the committee.

SEC. 13. Appointment of the members of the committee.

— The members of the citizens election committee representing the ruling

party and the dominant opposition party and their substitutes shall be appointed

by the Commission on Elections not later than March 7, 1984 upon nomination by

the respective political parties. For this purpose, the directorates of

political parties shall submit in writing to the Commission the names of their

representatives in each province and its component city or cities; highly

urbanized city; and district of Metropolitan Manila who shall in turn submit

likewise in writing not later than February 29, 1984 the names and addresses of

the persons whom they propose to be appointed as representatives to the citizens

election committee for each voting center in the province.

In constituencies where there are more than one opposition party and each of

said parties submits its nomination and such nominations are in favor of

different persons, the Commission shall require said parties to agree on the

nomination of a common representative in the committee. Should they fail to come

to an agreement, the Commission shall determine which among said parties is the

dominant party, based on but not limited to the following guidelines:

Capability of the political party to wage a bona fide nationwide campaign as

evidenced by the number of its members in the Batasang Pambansa and the number

of its members elected to positions in the local governments, as well as by its

party organization.

Bailiwicks or areas of political support.

Platform or program of government distinguishing the political party from

the other political parties in ideology and orientation.

The record of the political party in the matter of its adherence to

constitutional provisions on elections, including the duty and obligation of

qualified citizens to register and to vote in elections.

If any of the parties entitled to representation in the committee fails to

nominate its representative therein on or before February 29, 1984, the

Commission shall appoint a public school teacher to fill the vacancy.

Section 14 Question of Facts.

SEC. 14. Question of Facts. — Findings of the

Commission on questions of facts shall be final.

Section 15 Relief of members of the committee.

SEC. 15. Relief of members of the committee. — Any

member of the citizens elections committee as well as his substitute may at any

time be relieved from office and substituted with another having the legal

qualifications, upon petition of the authorized representatives of the party

upon whose nomination the appointment was made, and it shall be unlawful to

prevent said person from, or disturb him in, the performance of the duties of

the said office. A record of each case of substitution shall be made, setting

forth therein the hour in which the replaced member has ceased in office and the

status of the work of the citizens election committee. Said record shall be

signed by each member of the committee including the incoming and outgoing

officers.

Section 16 Temporary vacancies.

SEC. 16. Temporary vacancies. — If, at the time of

the meeting of the committee, any member or the poll clerk is absent, or the

office is still vacant, the member present shall call upon the substitute of the

absent member to perform the duties of the latter; and, in case such substitute

cannot be found, the member present upon nomination by the representative of the

party of the absent member or in his absence, by the watchers belonging to the

party, shall appoint any qualified elector of the voting center to temporarily

fill said vacancy until the absent member appears or the vacancy is filled. In

case there are two members present, they shall act jointly.

Section 17 Arrest of absent member.

SEC. 17. Arrest of absent member. — The member or

members present may order the arrest of any member or poll clerk or substitute

thereof who, in their judgment, has absented himself with intention of

obstructing the performance of the duties of the committee.

Section 18 Temporary designation of member and poll clerks by watchers.

SEC. 18. Temporary designation of member and poll clerks

by watchers. — If at the time in which the committee must meet, all the

offices of members and poll clerks are vacant, or if not one of them shall

appear, the watchers present may designate qualified electors of the voting

center to act in the place of the members and the poll clerks until the

absentees shall appear or the vacancies are filled.

Section 19 Oath of the members of the committee.

SEC. 19. Oath of the members of the committee. —

The members and poll clerks, whether permanent, substitute or temporary, shall,

before assuming their office, take and sign an oath upon forms prepared by the

Commission before an officer authorized to administer oaths or, in his absence,

before any other member of the committee, or in case no one is present, they

shall take it before any elector. The oaths shall be sent immediately to the

election registrar.

Section 20 Compensation of the members of the committee.

SEC. 20. Compensation of the members of the committee.

— The chairman; poll clerks and members of the committee-shall each be

entitled to a per diem of thirty pesos for each day of actual service rendered

in the committee.

Section 21 Duties of the committee.

SEC. 21. Duties of the committee. — The committee

shall have the following duties and functions:

Undertake the registration of voters as authorized herein;

Act as deputies of the Commission in the supervision and control of the

registration in centers wherein they are assigned to assure that registration of

qualified voters shall be done in a free, orderly and honest manner;

Perform such other functions prescribed by this Decree or by the rules and

regulations promulgated by the Commission.

Section 22 Proceedings of the citizens election committee.

SEC. 22. Proceedings of the citizens election

committee. — The citizens election committee shall act through its

chairman, by the vote of the majority of its members, but the poll clerk shall

have no vote in its proceedings. The committee shall decide without delay all

questions which may arise in the performance of its duties. During the meeting

of the committee, not more than one member of the committee shall absent himself

from the voting center at a time, and in no case shall such absence before more

than twenty minutes.

Section 23 Meeting to close the list of the voters before the election.

SEC. 23. Meeting to close the list of the voters before

the election. — The citizens election committee shall also meet on May 5,

1984 for the purpose of making such inclusions, exclusions, and corrections as

may be or have been ordered by the courts, stating opposite every name so

corrected, added, or cancelled the date of the order and the court which issued

the same; and for the consecutive numbering of the voters of the voting

center.

Should the committee fail to include in the list of voters any person ordered

by competent court to be so included, said person shall, upon presentation of a

certified copy of the order of inclusion and upon proper identification be

allowed by the committee to vote.

Should the committee fail to exclude from the list of voters any person

ordered by the court to be so excluded, the committee shall not permit said

person to vote upon presentation to it by any interested party of a certified

copy of the order of exclusion.

Section 24 Meeting hours of the committee.

SEC. 24. Meeting hours of the committee. — The

meetings of the citizens election committee for the registration of voters shall

commence at seven o'clock in the morning and shall continue until five o'clock

in the afternoon. They may be suspended for one hour only at midday.

Section 25 Voter's affidavit.

SEC. 25. Voter's affidavit. — Every person desiring

to be registered in the list of voters shall, under oath taken before the

citizens election committee, sign and affix the imprint of the thumbs of his

right and left hands in quadruplicate, wherein he shall state: His name and

surname; place of birth; age on his last birthday; civil status; profession,

occupation or trade; residence, giving his correct and exact address; that he

possesses the qualifications required of a voter; and that he is not in any way

legally disqualified from voting. The citizens election committee shall require

that the thumbmarks appear plainly printed.

Section 26 Identification of voters.

SEC. 26. Identification of voters. — Any voter who

is not known by the members of the committee may be identified by any voter of

the voting center, or by the presentation of his birth or baptismal certificate

or any other document showing his identity. No fees nor documentary stamps shall

be required on such documents.

Section 27 Action by the committee.

SEC. 27. Action by the committee. — Upon receipt of

the voter's affidavit, the committee shall examine the date therein. If it finds

that the applicant possesses all the qualifications and none of the

disqualifications of a voter, he shall be registered. Otherwise, he shall not be

registered.

The name and address of each registered voter shall, immediately upon his

registration, be entered in the proper alphabetical group in the list.

Section 28 Preservation of the voters' affidavits.

SEC. 28. Preservation of the voters' affidavits. —

A copy of the affidavit of each voter shall be kept by the citizens election

committee until after the election, when it shall deliver it to the election

registrar together with the copies of the list of voters and other election

papers for use in the next election. The other two copies shall be sent by the

committee on the day following the date of the affidavit to the office of the

provincial election supervisor and the Commission on Elections in Manila. The

latter shall file and preserve the voter's affidavits by city and municipality

and in alphabetical order of their surnames. The fourth copy shall be given to

the voter as evidence of his registration.

Section 29 Columns in the list of voters.

SEC. 29. Columns in the list of voters. — The list

of voters shall be arranged in columns as follows: In the first column there

shall be entered, at the time of the closing of the list before the election, a

number opposite the name of each voter registered, beginning with number one and

continuing in consecutive order until the end of the list. In the second column,

the surnames generally used by such persons shall be written in alphabetical

order followed by their respective first names, without abbreviations of any

kind. In the third column, the respective residence of such person with the name

of the street and number, or, in case there be none, a brief description of the

locality or place shall be inserted. In the fourth column, there shall be

entered on the day of the election the numbers of the ballot which were given

successively to the voter. In the fifth column, the voter shall stamp on the day

of the election the mark of the thumb of his right and under said mark his

signature. And in the sixth column the signature of the chairman of the

committee who has handed the ballot to the voter. It will be sufficient that the

fourth, fifth, and sixth columns shall be filed in the copy of the list under

the custody of the committee to see to it that the thumbmark is stamped

plainly.

Section 30 Certificate of the committee in the list of voters.

SEC. 30. Certificate of the committee in the list of

voters. — Upon the adjournment of each meeting for the registration of

voters, the citizens election committee shall close each alphabetical group of

surnames of voters by writing the date on the next line in blank, which shall be

forthwith signed by each member, and, before adding a new name on the same page

at the next meeting, it shall write the following: "Added at the . . . .

meeting," specifying if it is the second, third or fourth meeting of the

committee. If the meeting adjourned is the last one for the registration of

voters, the committee shall, besides closing each alphabetical group of voters

as above provided, add at the end of the list a certificate (a) of the

corrections and cancellations made in the permanent list, specifying them, or

that there has been none, and (b) of the total number of voters registered in

the voting center.

Section 31 Publication of the list.

SEC. 31. Publication of the list. — At the first

hour of the working day following the last day of registration of voters, the

poll clerk shall deliver to the election registrar a copy of the list certified

to by the citizens election committee as provided in the preceding section;

another copy, also certified, shall be sent to the provincial election

supervisor of the province, and another, likewise certified, shall be sent to

the Commission on Elections, in whose offices said copies shall be open to

public inspection during regular office hours. On the same day and hour, the

poll clerk shall also post a copy of the list in the voting center in a secure

place on the door or near the same at a height of a meter and a half, where it

may be conveniently consulted by the interested parties. Each member of the

committee shall also have a copy of the list so prepared, which may be inspected

by the public in the residence or office of said member during regular office

hours. Immediately after the meeting for the closing of the list, the poll clerk

shall also send a notice to the official above named regarding the changes and

the number above referred to, to be attached to the copy of the list under their

custody.

Section 32 Challenged of right to register.

SEC. 32. Challenged of right to register. — Any

person applying for registration may be challenged before the citizens election

committee on any registration day by any member, elector, candidate, or watcher.

The committee shall then examine the challenged person and shall receive such

other evidence as it may deem pertinent, after which it shall decide whether the

elector shall be included in or excluded from the list as may be proper. All

challenges shall be heard and decided without delay, and in no case beyond three

days from the date the challenge was made.

After the question has been decided, the committee shall give to each party a

brief certified statement setting forth the challenge and the decision

thereon.

Section 33 Power of the committee to administer oaths and issue summons.

SEC. 33. Power of the committee to administer oaths and

issue summons. — For the purpose of determining the right of applicants to

be registered as voters in the list, the citizens committee shall have the same

powers to administer oaths, to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum, and to

compel witnesses to appear and testify, but the latter's fees and the expenses

incident to the process shall he paid in advance by the party in whose behalf

the summons is issued.

Section 34 Proceedings of the committee shall be public.

SEC. 34. Proceedings of the committee shall be public.

— All meetings of the citizens election committee shall be public. The

committee shall have full authority to keep order within the voting center and

its environs, to keep the access thereto open and unobstructed, and to enforce

obedience to its lawful commands. If any person shall refuse to obey a lawful

command of the committee, or shall conduct himself in a disorderly manner in its

presence or within its hearing and thus interrupt or disturb its work or the

proceedings in connection with the registration, the chairman shall order any

peace officer to take such offending person into his custody until the

adjournment of the meeting; but such order shall not be so executed as to

prevent the person so taken into custody from registering as a voter. Such order

shall be executed by any peace officer to whom it may be given, but if none

shall be present, by any other person deputized thereto by the committee in

writing.

Section 35 Illiterate or disabled applicants.

SEC. 35. Illiterate or disabled applicants. — The

voter's affidavit of an illiterate or physically disabled person may be prepared

by any relative within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity or

any member of the committee who shall prepare the affidavit in accordance with

the data supplied by the applicant.

Section 36 Voting centers for registration purposes.

SEC. 36. Voting centers for registration purposes.

— Without prejudice to the establishment of new voting centers, transfer, merger

or splitting of existing ones, the voting centers which functioned as such

during the immediately preceding national election shall be used as centers for

purposes of the registration of voters. Each voting center shall have as far as

practicable three hundred registered voters.

Section 37 Jurisdiction in inclusion and exclusion cases.

SEC. 37. Jurisdiction in inclusion and exclusion cases.

— The municipal or metropolitan trial courts shall have original and

exclusive jurisdiction over all matters of inclusion in and exclusion of voters

from the list in their respective municipalities or cities. Decisions of the

municipal or metropolitan trial courts may be appealed directly by the aggrieved

party to the proper Regional Trial Court within five days from receipt of notice

thereof, otherwise said decision of the municipal or metropolitan trial court

shall become final and executory after said period. The Regional Trial Court

shall decide the appeal within ten days from the time the appeal was received

and its decision shall be immediately final and executory. No motion for

reconsideration shall be entertained by the courts.

Section 38 Application for inclusion of voters in the list.

SEC. 38. Application for inclusion of voters in the

list. — Any person whom the citizens election committee has refused to

register or whose name has been stricken out from the list may apply within

twenty days after the last registration day, to the proper Municipal or

Metropolitan Trial Court, for an order directing the citizens election

committees to include or reinstate his name in the list, together with the

certificate of the citizens election committees regarding his case and proof of

service of notice of his application upon a member of the citizens election

committee with indication of the time, place, and court before which the

application is to be heard.

Section 39 Voters excluded through inadvertence or registered with an erroneous or misspelled name.

SEC. 39. Voters excluded through inadvertence or

registered with an erroneous or misspelled name. — Any voter registered in

the permanent list, who has not been included in the list prepared for the

election or who has been included therein with a wrong or misspelled name, shall

have the right to file an application on any date with the proper Municipal or

Metropolitan Trial Court, for an order directing that his name be reinstated in

the list or that he be registered with his correct name. He shall attach to such

application a certified copy of the entry of his name in the list of the

preceding election, together with proof that he has applied without success to

the citizens election committees and that he has served notice thereof upon a

member of the committee.

Section 40 Application for exclusion of voters from the list.

SEC. 40. Application for exclusion of voters from the

list. — Any registered voter in a municipality may apply at any time except

during the period beginning with the twenty-first day after the last

registration day of any election up to and including the election day to the

proper municipal or metropolitan trial court, for the exclusion of a voter from

the list, giving the name and residence of the latter, the voting center in

which he is registered, and the grounds for the challenge. The application shall

be sworn to and accompanied by proof of notice to a member of the citizens

election committee, if the same is duly constituted, and to the challenged

voter.

Section 41

SEC. 41. Common rules governing judicial proceedings in

the matter of inclusion, exclusion, and correction of names of voters. —

(a) Outside of the regular office hours no application for inclusion, exclusion,

or correction of names of voters shall be received.

(b) Notices to the members of the citizens election committees and to the

challenged voters shall state the place, day and hour in which such application

or motion shall be heard, and such notice may be made by sending a copy thereof

by registered mail or by personal delivery to them, or by leaving it in the

possession of a person of sufficient discretion in the residence of the said

persons, or, in the event that the foregoing procedure is not practicable, by

posting a copy in a conspicuous place in the

municipal building and in two

other conspicuous places within the municipality, at least ten days prior to the

day set for the hearing.

In the interest of justice and to afford the challenged voter all the

opportunities to contest the applicant for exclusion, the court concerned may,

when the challenged voter fails to appear on the first day set for the hearing,

order that notice be effected in such manner and within such period of time as

he may decide, which time shall in no case be more than ten days from the day

the respondent is first bound in default.

(c) Each application shall refer to only one voting.

(d) No costs shall be assessed in these proceedings. However, if the court

should be satisfied that the application has been filed for the sole purpose of

molesting the adverse party and causing him to incur expenses, he may condemn

the culpable party to pay the costs and incidental expenses.

(e) Any candidate who may be affected by the proceedings may intervene and

present his evidence.

(f) The decision shall be based on the evidence presented. If the question is

whether or not the voter is real or fictitious his non-appearance on the day set

for hearing shall be prima facie evidence that the registered voter is

fictitious. In no case shall a decision be rendered upon a stipulation of

facts.

(g) These applications shall be heard and decided without delay. The decision

shall be rendered within six hours after the hearing and within ten days from

the date of its filing in court. Cases appealed to the Regional Trial Court

shall be decided within ten days from receipt of the appeal in the office of the

clerk of court. In any case, the court shall decide these petitions not later

than the day before the election and the decision rendered thereon shall be

immediately final and executory, notwithstanding the provisions of Sec. 37 on

the finality of decisions.

Section 42 Election offenses.

SEC. 42. Election offenses. — (a) The following

shall be guilty of a serious election offense punishable in accordance with the

provisions of this Decree:

Any person who deliberately makes any false or untruthful statement relative

to any of the data or information required in the voter's affidavit as herein

prescribed;

Any member of the citizens election committee who knowingly approves the

application of a person who does not possess all the qualifications or who

possesses, any of the disqualifications prescribed by law for voters, or who

knowingly disapproves the application or a person who possesses all such

qualifications and none of the disqualifications;

Any person who registers in substitution for another whether with or without

the latter's knowledge and/or consent;

Any person who falsifies any voter's affidavit or the current list of

voters;

Any person who deliberately imprints blurred or indistinct thumbmark on any

of the copies of the application for registration, or in the corresponding space

on the voter's voting records; or any member of the citizens election committee

who deliberately or through negligence causes or allows the imprinting of

blurred or indistinct thumbmarks in any of the above-mentioned election records;

or any person who tampers with the thumbmarks in said election records;

Any person who delays, or hinders or obstructs another from registering as a

voter or from taking steps leading thereto;

Any person who shall falsely certify or identify another as a bona fide

resident of a particular place or locality for the purpose of securing the

latter's registration as a voter;

Any member of the citizens election committee or any person acting on their

behalf who fails, without cause, to post or to give any of the notices or to

make any of the reports required by this Decree;

Any person who being ineligible for appointment as member of the citizens'

election committee, accepts an appointment to said committee, assumes office and

actually serves as member thereof; or any public officer or any person acting on

his behalf who appoints such ineligible person knowing him to be ineligible;

Any person who, without authority, acts as, or assumes or performs any

function of, as member of the citizens election committee;

Any public official, or any person acting in this behalf, who relieves any

member of the citizens' election committee or who changes or causes the change

of the assignment of members of the Committee without authority of the

Commission; and

Any person who, in the presence or within the hearing of the citizens

election committee during any of its meetings, conducts himself in a disorderly

manner in such a way as to interrupt or disrupt its work or proceedings to the

end of preventing said body from performing its functions, either partly or

totally.

Section 43 Penalties.

SEC. 43. Penalties. — Any person found guilty of

any election offense under this Decree shall be punished with imprisonment of

not less than one year but not more than six years. In addition, the guilty

party shall be sentenced to suffer disqualification to hold public office and

deprivation of the right of suffrage. If he is a foreigner, he shall be

sentenced to deportation which shall be enforced after the prison term has been

served. Any political party, group or entity found guilty shall be sentenced to

pay a fine of not less than ten thousand pesos, which shall be imposed upon such

party, group or entity after criminal action has been instituted in which their

corresponding officials have been found guilty.

Section 44 Prosecution.

SEC. 44. Prosecution. — The Commission shall,

through its duly authorized legal officers, have the power to conduct

preliminary investigation of all election offenses punishable under this Decree,

and to prosecute the same. The Commission may avail of the assistance of other

prosecuting arms of the Government.

Section 45 Prescription.

SEC. 45. Prescription. — Election offenses shall

prescribe after three years from the date of their commission. If the discovery

of the offense is made in an election contest proceedings, the period of

prescription shall commence on the date on which the judgment in such

proceedings becomes final and executory.

Section 46 Jurisdiction of courts.

SEC. 46. Jurisdiction of courts. — The Regional

Trial Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to try and decide any

criminal action or proceedings for violation of this Decree. From the decision

of the courts, appeal will lie as in other criminal cases.

Section 47 List to be used in the January 27, 1984 Plebiscite.

SEC. 47. List to be used in the January 27, 1984

Plebiscite. — This Decree shall not in any manner affect the existing books

of voters and the registration records of voters who shall register for the

plebiscite on January 27, 1984. Said books of voters and registration records

shall be the bases for the preparation of the list of voters to be used in the

plebiscite.

Section 48 Appropriation.

SEC. 48. Appropriation. — The amount of one hundred

million pesos or so much thereof as may be necessary to carry out the purposes

of this Decree is hereby set aside out of the Special Activities Fund provided

in the current General Appropriations Act.

Section 49 Repealing Clause.

SEC. 49. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees,

executive orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof, inconsistent with the

provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed, amended or modified

accordingly.

Section 50 Effectivity.

SEC. 50. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take

effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 11th day of January, in the year of Our

Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-four.