OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE
Article XIII
PRECINCTS AND
POLLING PLACES
Sec. 149. Precincts and their establishment. - The unit of territory for the
purpose of voting is the election precinct, and every barangay as of the
approval of this Act shall have at least one such precinct.
The Commission shall establish all
election precincts.
The precincts actually established in
the preceding regular election shall be maintained, but the Commission may
introduce such adjustments, changes or new divisions or abolish them, if
necessary: Provided, however, That the territory comprising an election
precinct shall not be altered or a new precinct established within forty-five
days before a regular election and thirty days before a special election or a
referendum or plebiscite.
Sec. 150. Arrangements of election precincts. –
1. Each
election precinct shall have, as far as possible not more than three hundred
voters and shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous and compact
territory.
2. When
it appears that an election precinct contains more than three hundred voters,
the Commission shall, in the interest of orderly election, and in order to
facilitate the casting of votes, be authorized to divide a precinct not later
than one week after the last day of registration of voters. But the polling place of all the precincts
created thereby shall be located in the same building or compound where the
polling place of the original precinct is located, and if this be not feasible,
in a place as close as possible to the polling place of the original precinct: Provided, however, That the polling place of
the new precinct may be located elsewhere upon written petition of the majority
of the voters of the new precinct: Provided, further, That when a precinct is
divided into two or more precincts, the registered voters shall be included in
the precinct wherein they reside. Every
case of alteration of a precinct shall be duly published by posting a notice of
any change in conspicuous location in the precinct, and in the municipal
building or city hall, as the case may be.
3. A
municipality which has been merged with another municipality shall constitute
at least one election precinct, if the distance between the remotest barangay
of the merged municipality and the nearest polling place in the municipality to
which it has been merged shall, by the shortest road, exceed five kilometers.
4. An
island or group of islands having one hundred and fifty or more voters shall
constitute a precinct.
5. Any
alteration of the election precincts or the establishment of new ones shall be
communicated to the provincial election supervisor, the provincial
superintendent of schools, etc. together with the corresponding maps, which
shall be published as prescribed in the next succeeding sections.
Sec. 151. Publication of maps or precincts. - At least five days before the
first registration day preceding a regular election or special election or a
referendum or a plebiscite, the Commission shall, through its duly authorized
representative, post in the city hall or municipal building and in three other
conspicuous places in the city or municipality and on the door of each polling
place, a map of the city or municipality showing its division into precincts
with their respective boundaries and indicating therein all streets and alleys
in populous areas and the location of each polling place.
These maps shall be kept posted until
after the election, referendum or plebiscite.
Sec. 152. Polling place. - A polling place is the building or place where the board
of election inspectors conducts its proceedings and where the voters shall cast
their votes.
Sec. 153. Designation of polling places. - The location of polling places
designated in the preceding regular election shall continue with such changes
as the Commission may find necessary, after notice to registered political
parties and candidates in the political unit affected, if any, and hearing: Provided, That no location shall be changed
within forty-five days before a regular election and thirty days before a
special election or a referendum or plebiscite, except in case it is destroyed
or it cannot be used.
Sec. 154. Requirements for polling places. - Each polling place shall be, as
far as practicable, a ground floor and shall be of sufficient size to admit and
comfortably accommodate forty voters at one time outside the guard rail for the
board of election inspectors. The
polling place shall be located within the territory of the precinct as
centrally as possible with respect to the residence of the voters therein and
whenever possible, such location shall be along a public road. No designation of polling places shall be
changed except upon written petition of the majority of the voters of the
precinct or agreement of all the political parties or by resolution of the
Commission upon prior notice and hearing.
A public building having the
requirements prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be preferred as
polling place.
Sec. 155. Building that shall not be used as polling places. - No polling place shall be
located in a public or private building owned, leased, or occupied by any
candidate or of any person who is related to any candidate within the fourth
civil degree of consanguinity or affinity, or any officer of the government or
leader of any political party, group or faction, nor in any building or
surrounding premises under the actual control of a private entity, political
party or religious organization. In
places where no suitable public building is available, private school buildings
may be used as polling places. No
polling place shall be located within the perimeter of or inside a military or
police camp or reservation or within a prison compound.
Any registered voter, candidate or
political party may petition the Commission not later than thirty days before
the first registration day for the transfer of the polling place from the
prohibited buildings provided herein. Such
petition shall be heard and decided by the Commission within twenty days from
the filing of the petition. Failure to
effect the transfer of the polling place after the Commission found it to be
located in violation of this section within the period prescribed herein shall
be a ground for the postponement of the election in the polling place
concerned.
Sec. 156. Signs and flags of polling places. - On the day of the voting as
well as on any day that the board of election inspectors might meet, every
polling place shall have in front a sign showing the number of the precinct to
which it belongs and the Philippine flag shall be hoisted at the proper height.
Sec. 157. Arrangement and contents of polling places. - Each polling place shall
conform as much as possible to the sketch on the following page.
Sec. 158. Voting booth. - During the voting, there shall be in each polling place a
booth for every twenty voters registered in the precinct. Each booth shall be open on the side fronting
the table for the board of election inspectors and its three sides shall be
closed with walls at least seventy centimeters wide and two meters high. The
upper part shall be covered, if necessary, to preserve the secrecy of the
ballot. Each booth shall have in the
background a shelf so placed that voters can write therein while standing and
shall be kept clearly lighted, by artificial lights, if necessary, during the
voting.
The Commission shall post inside each
voting booth and elsewhere in the polling place on the day before the election,
referendum and plebiscite a list containing the names of all the candidates or
the issues or questions to be voted for, and shall at all times during the
voting period keep such list posted in said places.
Sec. 159. Guard rails. –
a.
In
every polling place there shall be a guard rail between the voting booths and
the table for the board of election inspectors which shall have separate
entrance and exit. The booths shall be
so arranged that they can be accessible only by passing through the guard rail
and by entering through its open side facing the table of the board of election
inspectors.
b.
There
shall also be a guard rail for the watchers between the place reserved for them
and the table for the board of election inspectors and at a distance of not
more than fifty centimeters from the latter so that the watchers may see and
read clearly during the counting of the contents of the ballots and see and
count the votes recorded by the board of election inspectors member on the
corresponding tally sheets.
c.
There
shall also be, if possible, guard rails separating the table of the board of
election inspectors from the voters waiting for their turn to cast their votes,
with entrance and exit to give them orderly access to the table and the booths
during the voting.
d.
The
polling place shall be so arranged that the booths, the table, the ballot boxes
and the whole polling place, except what is being written within the booths,
shall be in plain view of the board of election inspectors, the watchers and
other persons who may be within the polling place.
Sec. 160. Ballot boxes. –
1. There
shall be in each polling place on the day of the voting a ballot box one side
of which shall be transparent which shall be set in a manner visible to the
voting public containing two compartments, namely, the compartment for valid
ballots which is indicated by an interior cover painted white and the
compartment for spoiled ballots which is indicated by an interior cover painted
red. The boxes shall be uniform
throughout the Philippines and shall be solidly constructed and shall be closed
with three different locks as well as three numbered security locks and such
other safety devices as the Commission may prescribe in such a way that they
can not be opened except by means of three distinct keys and by destroying such
safety devices.
2. In
case of the destruction or disappearance of any ballot box on election day, the
board of election inspectors shall immediately report it to the city or
municipal treasurer who shall furnish another box or receptacle as equally
adequate as possible. The election
registrar shall report the incident and the delivery of a new ballot box by the
fastest means of communication on the same day to the Commission and to the
provincial election supervisor.
Sec. 161. Tally boards. - At the beginning of the counting, there shall be placed
within the plain view of the board of election inspectors, watchers and the
public, a tally board where the names of all the registered candidates or the
issues or questions to be voted upon shall be written, and the poll clerk shall
record thereon the votes received by each of them as the chairman of the board
of election inspectors reads the ballot.
Sec. 162. Furnishing of ballot boxes, forms, stationeries and
materials for election. -
The Commission shall prepare and furnish the ballot boxes, forms, stationeries
and materials necessary for the registration of voters and the holding of the
election.
The provincial, city and municipal
treasurer shall have custody of such election paraphernalia, supplies and
materials as are entrusted to him under the law or rules of the Commission and
shall be responsible for their preservation and storage, and for any loss,
destruction, impairment or damage of any election equipment, material or document
in their possession furnished under this Code.
Sec. 163. Inspection of polling places. - Before the day of the election,
referendum or plebiscite, the Chairman of the Commission shall, through its
authorized representatives, see to it that all polling places are inspected and
such omissions and defects as may be found corrected. The Commission shall keep the reports on these
inspections.
