Resolution No. 8491 - Article VII

ARTICLE VII
COMMON PROVISIONS

SEC. 59. Disposition of the Printed Election Returns. - After the printing of the election returns, the board shall individually fold the first eight (8) copies of election returns, seal each of them with serially numbered paper seals (CEF No. 12), place inside the proper envelope (CEF No. 17, 17-A to 17-G), and seal the envelopes, for distribution as follows:

1. First copy to the Election Officer;
2. Second copy, to the Commission on Elections, Manila;
3. Third copy, to the Provincial Consolidation Board;
4. Fourth copy, to the citizens' arm authorized by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count;
5. Fifth copy, to the dominant majority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law;
6. Sixth copy, to the dominant minority party as determined by the Commission in accordance with law;
7. Seventh copy shall be deposited inside the compartment of the ballot box;
8. Eighth copy, to be posted conspicuously on a wall within the premises of the polling/counting center;
9. Ninth to eighteenth copies shall be given to the ten (10) accredited major national parties, excluding the dominant majority and minority parties, in accordance with a voluntary agreement among them;
10. Nineteenth and twentieth copies shall be given to the two (2) accredited major local parties in accordance with a voluntary agreement among them;
11. Twenty-first to twenty-fourth copies to the national broadcast or print media entities as may be equitably determined by the Commission in view of propagating the copies to the widest extent possible;
12. Twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth copies to the local broadcast or print media entities as may be equitably determined by the Commission in view of propagating the copies to the widest extent possible; and
13. Twenty-seventh to thirtieth copies to the major citizens' arm, including the accredited citizens' arm and other non-partisan groups or organizations enlisted by the Commission pursuant to Section 52 (k) of Batas Pambansa Bilang 881.

SEC. 60. Certificate of votes. - After the announcement of the results of the election, and before leaving the counting center, the board shall, upon request of the duly accredited watchers, manually prepare and issue a Certificate of Votes by Precinct (CEF No. 13) and require the requesting watchers to acknowledge receipt thereof.

The certificate shall contain the number of votes obtained by each candidate written in words and figures, the precinct number, the name of the municipality and province, and the date and time issued, and shall be signed and thumb marked by each member of the board.

SEC. 61. Disposition of ballot boxes, keys, election returns and other documents. - Upon the termination of the counting of votes and the announcement of the results of the election in the precinct, the board shall:

1. Give the copies of the printed ER intended for the dominant majority party, dominant minority party and the citizens' arm authorized by the Commission to conduct an unofficial count, to their respective representatives, if any, who have been authorized by said parties and organizations to receive such copies. If there is no such authorized representative in the counting center, the board shall submit said copies to the Election Officer;
2. Place the following inside the compartment of the ballot box:

1) Envelopes containing:

1.1. All areas in the ARMM

1.1.1. Copy of Printed ER intended for the ballot box;

1.1.2. Copy of the Minutes of Voting and Counting of Votes intended for the ballot box;

1.2. For areas using ACM

1.2.1. Counted official ballots;

1.2.2. Half of torn unused ballots;

1.2.3. Marked ballots;

1.2.4. Spoiled ballots;

1.2.5. Excess ballots;

1.2.6. Rejected/Invalid Ballots; and

1.2.7. Stubs of used pads of official ballots.

3. Close the inner compartments of the ballot box, lock them with one (1) self-locking serially numbered fixed length seal. Close the ballot box and lock the outer cover with three (3) padlocks and one (1) self-locking serially numbered fixed length seal. The three (3) keys to the padlocks shall be placed in separate envelopes, which shall be sealed and signed by all members of the board;
4. Deliver the ballot box, accompanied by watchers, to the city or municipal treasurer.

For this purpose, the city/municipal treasurer shall provide at the counting center the necessary personnel and facilities for said delivery at the expense of the city/municipality.

In case the ballot box delivered by the board is not locked and/or sealed, the treasurer shall lock and/or seal the ballot box. The treasurer shall include such fact, including the serial number of the self-locking serially numbered fixed length seal used, in his report to the Commission.

5. Deliver to the Election Officer:
1. Book of Voters;
2. EDCVL;
3. PCVL;
4. Three (3) envelopes, each containing a key to a padlock of the ballot box, which shall each be delivered, under proper receipt, to the Provincial Election Supervisor, Provincial Prosecutor and Provincial Treasurer;
5. Envelope containing the copy of the Minutes of Voting and Counting of Votes intended for the Commission;
6. Envelope containing the other half of torn unused official ballots (for ACM);
7. List of Voters allowed to vote after the close of voting;
8. Envelope containing the Printed Diagnostic Test, Zero Vote Report and other reports printed by the EVM;
9. Envelope containing the Initialization Report, Summary Report, Precinct Audit Log Report and Precinct Statistics Report (for ACM);
10. The envelopes containing copies of the election returns intended for the Provincial Board of Canvassers, Regional Board of Canvassers and the Commission on Elections;
11. The envelope containing the USB Memory Sticks (for EVM); and
12. Other pertinent papers and documents

After the counting of votes, the Provincial Election Supervisor, Election Officer or the Treasurer, shall require the board which failed to deliver the election documents or paraphernalia mentioned herein to deliver the same immediately.

SEC. 62. Preservation of the list of voters. - The Election Officer shall keep the EDCVL and PCVL in a safe place until such time that the Commission gives instructions on their disposition.

SEC. 63. Omission or erroneous inclusion of documents in ballot box. - If, after locking the ballot box, the board discovers that some documents or articles required to be placed in the ballot box were not placed therein, the board, instead of opening it to place therein said documents or articles, shall deliver the same to the Election Officer. The Election Officer shall take appropriate measures to preserve the integrity of the documents.

In no instance shall the ballot box be reopened to place therein or to take out there from any document or article except in proper cases and with prior written authority of the Commission to retrieve copies of the election returns which will be needed in any canvass. In such instance, the members of the board and the watchers shall be notified of the time and place of the opening of said ballot box. However, if there are other authentic copies of the election returns outside of the ballot box which can be used in the canvass, such copies of the election returns shall be used in said canvass and the opening of the ballot box to retrieve copies of the election returns placed therein shall then be dispensed with.

SEC. 64. Special procedures. - The express provisions of this Resolution notwithstanding, the Commission may, in exceptional cases, adopt special procedures in the voting, counting, consolidation, transmission, storage, custody, distribution and retrieval of accountable forms and paraphernalia to fulfill its constitutional mandate to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections.

SEC. 65. Effectivity. - This Resolution shall take effect on the seventh (7th) day after its publication in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

SEC. 66. Publication and dissemination. - Let the Education and Information Department, this Commission, cause the publication of this Resolution in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation and in one (1) local newspaper in the ARMM, and furnish copies thereof to the Regional Election Director, Provincial Election Supervisors, Election Officers and Boards of Election Inspectors in the ARMM.

SO ORDERED.