Canvass by the Provincial Board.
Section 209
SEC. 209. Canvass by the Provincial Board.—The provincial board of canvassers shall meet not later than six o'clock in the evening on election day to canvass the returns that may have already been received by the provincial treasurer. It shall meet continuously from day to day until the canvass is completed, but may adjourn only for the purpose of awaiting the other election returns from other municipalities. Each time the board adjourns it shall make a total of all the votes cast for each candidate for national, provincial, and city offices, furnishing the Commission in Manila by the fastest means of communication a copy thereof, and making available the data contained therein to mass media and other interested parties. As soon as the other election returns are delivered the board shall immediately resume canvassing until all the votes cast in the province have been canvassed. Upon the completion of the canvass, the board shall make, as the case may be, separate statements of all the votes received by each candidate for the Offices of President and Vice-President, Senator, and Member of the House of Representatives for each legislative district and by each candidate for provincial or city office. Upon the completion of the statements, the board shall proclaim in accordance therewith, who has been elected to the House of Representatives from each legislative district and who has been elected to each provincial and city office and shall post true copies of said proclamation in a conspicuous place for not less than one week. With regard to the election of President and Vice-President, the board shall certify and transmit the returns as provided in the Constitution. The board shall prepare the certificate of election returns, supported by a statement of votes by precinct, for the election of President and Vice-President, in quintuplicate by the use of carbon papers or such other means as the Commission shall prescribe to the end that all five copies be produced in one handwriting. Each and every sheet of each and every copy shall bear the official seal of the province or city. Upon the completion of these certificates and statements, they shall be enclosed in envelopes furnished by the Commission and sealed, and immediately distributed as follows: the original copy, together with two complete sets of the carbon papers used shall be enclosed and sealed in the envelope directed to the President of the Senate; and the second copy, together with the remaining two sets of carbon papers shall likewise be enclosed and sealed in the envelope directed to the Commission and shall be delivered personally to the respective office of the addressee by the provincial or city treasurer or his authorized representatives. The third and fourth copies shall be directed to each of the two major political parties mentioned in Section one hundred forty-four of this Code, and shall likewise be delivered personally to the representative that each of said parties shall station for that purpose in the office of the Commission. The fifth copy shall be kept on file in the office of the provincial or city treasurer. Any candidate for President or Vice-President shall be entitled, personally or by a duly authorized representative, to examine, inspect, photograph, copy or obtain a certified true copy of the copy of the certificates of election returns and supporting statements of votes by precinct and of the carbon papers used in their preparation that are filed with the Commission and with the provincial or city treasurer under such-rules and regulations as the Commission shall promulgate in order to safeguard the integrity of these documents. With regard to the election of senators, the board shall merely state and certify the number of votes polled by the candidates therefor and shall forthwith send by registered mail the corresponding statements to the Commission.