COMELEC Resolution No. 9739

RESOLUTION No. 9739

In the Matter of Collecting the Shares of Barangays to Augment the Funds to be Used for the Conduct of the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections

(Promulgation: 10 July 2013)

WHEREAS, under Republic Act No. 10352 or the General Appropriations Act for the Fiscal Year 2013, only One Billion, One Hundred Seventy-Five Million and Ninety-Eight Thousand Pesos (Php 1,175,098,000.00) was alloted and set aside by Congress for the conduct of the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections;

WHEREAS, the foregoing amount is insufficient to defray all the necessary and reasonable expenses to successfully hold and manage the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections and to ensure that the said elections are honest, orderly, peaceful, and credible;

WHEREAS, under Section 50 of the Omnibus Election Code, local government units are required to appropriate funds to defray election expenses, thus:

"Section 50. Funding. - Local governments shall appropriate such funds to defray such necessary and reasonable expenses of the members of the board of election tellers, board of canvassers and the printing of election forms and procurement of other election paraphernalia, and the installation of polling booths."

WHEREAS, under Section 532 (c) in relation to Section 329 both of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code, funding for the regular elections of the Sangguniang Kabataan shall be taken from the ten per centum (10%) of the general fund of Barangays which have been reserved and set aside for the Sangguniang Kabataan;

WHEREAS, under Section 8 of Republic Act No. 9164 as amended by Section 4 of Republic Act No. 9340, the appropriations of the Commission which shall be used for the implementation of the said statutes may be augmented by an amount not exceeding the ten per centum (10%) of the general fund of Barangays which have been reserved and set aside for the Sangguniang Kabataan pursuant to Section 532 (c) of the Local Government Code; and

WHEREAS, the insufficiency of the funds appropriated for the conduct of the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections has made it necessary for the Commission to collect the aforementioned shares.

NOW, THEREFORE, after due deliberation, the Commission En Banc, by virtue of the powers vested in it by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, the Local Government Code, and Republic Acts Nos. 6653, 6679, 8524, 9164, and 9340, hereby RESOLVES:

1. To REQUIRE all local government units (LGUs) to set aside such amounts as may be necessary to augment the appropriations of the Commission for the conduct of the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, which in no case shall be less than Ten Thousand Pesos (Php 10,000.00) but not more than ten per centum (10%) of the general fund of Barangays which have been reserved and set aside for the Sangguniang Kabataan.

Any and all amounts forwarded pursuant to this Resolution shall be used primarily to defray the expenses of the Board of Election Tellers (BETs) for the following:

1.1. Transportation allowance in the amount of Five Hundred Pesos (Php 500.00) for each member of the BET;

1.2. Additional honoraria of the members of the BET; and

1.3. Trainings and meetings.

The amounts shall be released by the LGUs to the Election Officers.  For this purpose, field officials of the Commission are directed to extend cooperation and assistance in the disbursement of these amounts.

In instances where there is no appropriated fund for a barangay, the LGU concerned shall ask for a supplemental budget from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The use of the collected shares shall at all times be open for inspection of the Commission on Audit or its duly authorized representative.

2. To SEEK the assistance of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Commission on Audit (COA) and DBM for the collection of the funds from the LGUs.

3. To AUTHORIZE Commissioner Christian Robert S. Lim, the Chairperson of the Steering Committee for the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the DILG, DBM, and COA for purposes of facilitating the implementation of this Resolution, subject to the confirmation of the Commission En Banc.

Let the Steering Committee and the Project Director of the Project Management Office for the 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections implement this Resolution.

SO ORDERED.

COMELEC Res. No. 9739 - In the Matter of Collecting the Shares of Barangays To Augment The Funds To Be Used...