AMENDING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 229 FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING MILITARY PERSONNEL, TO VOTE IN THEIR PLACE OF ASSIGNMENT AND OTHER RELATED MATTERS.

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 249
• Sections: 4

Preamble

WHEREAS, barangay democracy derives its strength from the

participation of as many qualified citizens as possible in referendums and/or

consultations;

WHEREAS, in the referendum of July 27, military personnel,

government officials and employees, including those in government-owned or

controlled corporations who are registered in the provinces may not have

sufficient time to go there to cast their votes; and

WHEREAS, provision must be made in the case of barrios or

barangays where the conditions of peace and order are unsettled, to the end that

the barangay members thereof be not deprived of their right to vote;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as

Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to

Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated

September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and decree to be part of the

laws of the land the following:

Section 1

SECTION 1. Presidential Decree No. 229 is hereby amended by

inserting therein the following Sections to be known as Section 6-A and Section

6-B to read as follows:

"SEC. 6-A. Authority for any Official or Employee to

Vote in his Place of Assignment. — Any officer or employee of the

Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations, whose office

is located in the Metro-Manila area and who is registered as a barangay member

in the province shall, if he chooses, be authorized to cast his vote in the

barangay referendum center nearest his place of residence: Provided,

That the Barangay Referendum Committee shall allow such officer or employee to

cast his vote upon presentation of a certification of the chief of office or

agency concerned that the voter is an employee of the office or agency and a

barangay member registered in his province: Provided, further, That any

officer or employee on field assignment in the provinces and who is registered

as barangay member in the Metro-Manila area may cast his vote in the place where

he is assigned, subject to the same requirement provided in the

preceding sentence concerning the certification of the chief of office or

agency.

"SEC. 6-B. Authority for any Military Personnel to Vote

in His Place of Assignment. —

Any military personnel who is registered as a barangay member in a place

other than his present assignment shall be allowed to cast his vote in the

barangay referendum center nearest the camp, barracks or detachment where he is

assigned or sent on mission: Provided, That whenever possible and

convenient, taking into account the number of voters affected and the

accessibility of other barangay referendum centers, the election registrar of

any city, municipality or municipal district may authorize the establishment of

a barangay referendum center in any fort, camp, barracks or detachment, in which

case any member of the family of any military personnel assigned therein shall

be authorized to cast his vote in said barangay referendum center."

Section 2

SEC. 2. Section 16 of Presidential Decree No. 229 is hereby

amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 16. Postponement of Referendum. — When for

any serious cause such as calamities, floods, or other force majeure, violence,

terrorism, loss or destruction of referendum paraphernalia or records, and other

analogous causes of such a nature that the holding of a referendum becomes

impossible in any barangay center or political division or subdivision, the

Commission on Elections, upon verified petition and after due notice and

hearing, shall postpone the referendum therein to such time as it may deem

necessary, but on a date reasonably close to the date of the referendum not held

or suspended: Provided, however, That the Commission on Elections may

authorize barangay members of barrios or barangays where there is unrest or

where the holding of the referendum cannot be held without endangering the

safety of the voters, to cast their votes in the nearest barangay referendum

center where the conditions of peace and order are under control."

Section 3

SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 20th day of July, in the year of Our Lord,

nineteen hundred and seventy three.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President

Republic of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES

Assistant Executive Secretary