Resolution No. 8802

WHEREAS, Section 12, Article 1, Comelec Resolution No. 8786 promulgated on March 4, 2010 entitled Revised General Instructions For The Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) On The Voting, Counting, and Transmission of Results In Connection With the 10 May 2010, National and Local Elections, provides:

"Sec. 12. Voting Privilege of the Members of BEI. - Members of the BEI who are registered voters in precincts other than where they are assigned, may avail of the Local Absentee Voting, or on the day of the elections, vote in the precincts where they are registered, provided that they do so when the voting in their respective places of assignments is light, and their absence shall not be for more than twenty (20) minutes. For this purpose, they shall schedule their voting so that only one member of the BEI shall leave at any one time. (As revised)"

WHEREAS, Section 7 of Comelec Resolution No. 8793 promulgated on March 12, 2010 entitled Revised Rules and Regulations on Local Absentee Voting In Connection with the May 10, 2010 National and Local Elections, provides:

"Sec. 7. Procedures for filing of applications for local absentee voting -

1. All persons who may avail of the local absentee voting as provided under Sec. 2 hereof shall file their application forms before the head of office/supervisor/commander; and
2. The head of office/supervisor/commander shall receive all accomplished and subscribed application forms from their respective personnel."

WHEREAS, as of March 15, 2010, the Committee on Local Absentee Voting (CLAV) has received many applications for local absentee voting (LAV Form No. 2) which have not been subscribed and sworn to before the head of office/supervisor/commander. However, said applications have been subscribed and sworn to before the Election Officers of the city/municipality and/or notaries public instead of head of office/supervisor/commander.

WHEREAS, in order not to disenfranchise the registered voters especially the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs), who want to avail of local absentee voting this coming May 10, 2010 National and Local Elections, there is a need to grant authority to the said Election Officers and/or notaries public to administer oath and to swear the applicants and subscribe the application forms subject to the following procedures:

"1. Section 9. Verification of applicants for local absentee voting. - Upon receipt of the list of registered voters applying for local absentee voting and the accomplished application forms from the head of office/supervisor/commander concerned, the Committee shall verify whether the applicants are registered voters from the national list of registered voters provided by the Information and Technology Department (ITD), COMELEC.

Only the applications of those voters whose names are in the national database of voters shall be approved by the Committee and shall be included in the list of applicants who are qualified to vote under the local absentee voting system."

2. Section 10. Transmittal of list of qualified local absentee voters, local absentee ballots and other election paraphernalia from the Committee. - The Committee, through its duly authorized members, shall transmit to the head of office/supervisor/commander concerned the list of qualified local absentee voters, the exact number of local absentee ballots, inner and outer envelopes, and paper seals corresponding to the number of approved applications and thumbprint takers not later than April 24, 2010"

3. and other provisions of Comelec Resolution No. 8793 dated March 12, 2010.

WHEREAS, conformably to Section 10 of Comelec Resolution No. 8793, the local absentee ballots, inner and outer envelopes and paper seals corresponding to the number of approved applications and thumbprint takers shall be transmitted to the District Supervisors/Principals of the school who will conduct the voting in the presence of a Comelec Representative on April 28, 29 and 30, 2010.

NOW, THEREFORE, premises considered, the Commission has resolved, as it hereby RESOLVES to grant authority to the Election Officers concerned of the city/municipality and/or notaries public to administer oath, swear the applicants and subscribed the applications for local absentee voting for May 10, 2010 National and Local Elections.

Let the Committee on Local Absentee Voting implement this Resolution.

SO ORDERED.