Resolution No. 9925

WHEREAS, the Commission on Elections is preparing for the February 21, 2015 Special Sangguniang Kabataan Elections;

WHEREAS, the inventory of available yellow metal boxes as of January 5, 2015 shows that there are 130,339 available yellow metal ballot boxes nationwide while 42,386 are needed, resulting in a surplus of 87,953 ballot boxes;

WHEREAS, at the provincial level, the results may be categorized as follows:

1. Category A: Provinces with surplus ballot boxes and all of its cities/municipalities have sufficient or surplus ballot boxes;
2. Category B: Provinces, including the National Capital Region, with surplus ballot boxes and not all of its cities/municipalities have sufficient or surplus ballot boxes but the deficiency can be satisfied by the surplus; and
3. Category C: Provinces with insufficient ballot boxes to satisfy the deficiencies of its cities/municipalities;

WHEREAS, in order to augment the ballot box deficiencies in the Provinces falling under either Category B or C, there is a need to open ballot boxes currently in the possession of the city/municipal treasurers containing election forms and documents used in the 2013 Barangay Elections, in order that said ballot boxes may be utilized for the 21 February 2015 Special Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections;

WHEREAS, COMELEC Resolution No. 9905 promulgated on 21 October 2014 adopted Resolution No. 9736 which was promulgated on July 3, 2014 for purpose of the conduct of the February 21, 2015 SK Elections. Resolution No. 9736 further adopted Resolution No. 9022 promulgated on September 7, 2010 which sets forth the following guidelines in the opening of ballot boxes (metal), to wit:

1. The ballot boxes (metal) to be opened are not involved in any election protest or official investigation;
2. The contents of the ballot boxes (metal) shall be disposed of, except the minutes of voting and counting and the election returns deposited therein, which shall be kept by the city/municipal treasurer in a safe and secure place, until further orders from the Commission;
3. The city/municipal treasurer shall post notices of the date, time and place of opening of the ballot boxes in the bulletin boards of his office and that of the city/municipal hall and send notices to the Election Officer and representative/s from the local government unit concerned;
4. The Election Officer or his/her duly authorized representative shall be present during the opening of the ballot boxes; and
5. A Joint Report on the conduct of the opening of the ballot boxes shall be submitted by the Election Officer and the city/municipal treasurer to the Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations, which shall then be submitted to the Commission en banc. Said Joint Report shall indicate the number of ballot boxes opened, the names of the witnesses, and such other incidents or information that the Election Officer and the city/municipal treasurer may deem important;

WHEREAS, in the event that the deficiency of ballot boxes in a particular city/municipality cannot be augmented by ballot boxes that were opened in accordance with Resolution No. 9022, said deficiencies can be augmented by the excess ballot boxes of nearby municipalities and cities within the province, or from nearby cities/municipalities of another province within the region or from nearby cities/municipalities of another province or region;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission on Elections pursuant to the powers vested in it by the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, and other election laws, has RESOLVED, as it hereby RESOLVES:

1. To authorize the Regional Election Directors to approve the request of field officials of the cities/municipalities with ballot box deficiencies from their respective regions to open ballot boxes used in 2013 Barangay Elections or earlier elections and dispose the contents thereof in order that the same may be used in the February 21, 2015 Special Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections; Provided, that the guidelines enumerated in Resolution No. 9022 promulgated on September 7, 2010 be observed; Provided, further, that the city/municipal treasurer shall retain custody of the subject ballot boxes until further orders from the Commission; Provided, lastly, that the ODEDO shall then prepare an inventory report based on the Joint Report submitted by Election Officer and city/municipal treasurer.
2. That in the event that the ballot boxes opened pursuant to the preceding paragraph is still not sufficient to augment the deficiency of ballot boxes in the concerned city/municipality:
   1. To direct the Provincial Election Supervisors and Election Officers, to immediately cause, in coordination with the Provincial Treasurers and Municipal/City Treasurers, the deployment of surplus ballot boxes to cities and municipalities that are deficient in ballot boxes, based on the inventory report prepared by the Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations (ODEDO);
   2. Direct the Finance Services Department (FSD) to: (1) provide the Provincial Election Supervisors of the provinces under Category C above, a cash advance for "ballot box deployment" in the amount of Php100,000.00 each; and Php30,000.00 each for provinces under Category B above; and (2) issue guidelines on what are the allowable expense items for the use of the "ballot box deployment" cash advance as well as the supporting documents for its liquidation;
   3. Direct the Regional Election Directors to supervise and monitor the deployment of ballot boxes and see to it that the deployment is completed in time for the election;
   4. Direct the Provincial Election Supervisors to submit, not later than ten (10) days after the election, a report on the deployment of ballot boxes indicating, among others, the number of ballot boxes moved from one city/municipality to another city/municipality, the name of the city/municipality where it came from and its destination, and the cost for the deployment; and
   5. Direct the ODEDO to furnish the Regional Election Directors with a copy of the inventory report for their information and guidance.

Let the ODEDO, the Finance Services Department and the Administrative Services Department implement this Resolution.

SO ORDERED.