Commonwealth Act No. 517

B. No. 1462

Be it enacted by the National Assembly of the Philippines:

The amendments to the Constitution of the Philippines and the Ordinance appended thereto, proposed by the National Assembly in its Resolution Numbered Thirty-eight, adopted on September fifteen, nineteen hundred and thirty-nine, as amended by its Resolution Numbered Seventy-three, adopted on April eleven, nineteen hundred and forty, are submitted to the Filipino people, for approval or disapproval, at a general election to be held throughout the Philippines, on Tuesday, June eighteen, nineteen hundred and forty.

The said amendments shall be published in English and Spanish in three consecutive issues of the Official Gazette at least twenty days prior to the election. A printed copy thereof shall be posted in a conspicuous place in every municipal, city, and provincial government office building and in every polling place not later than May eighteen, nineteen hundred and forty, and shall remain posted therein until after the election. At least ten copies of said amendments shall be kept in each polling place to be made available for examination by the qualified electors during election day. When practicable, copies in the principal native languages, as may be determined by the Secretary of the Interior, shall also be kept therein.

The election shall be conducted in conformity with the provisions of the Election Code in so far as the same may be applicable.

The existing boards of election inspectors shall meet for the revision of the list of voters and for the registration of new ones on May twenty-five, nineteen hundred and forty.

Each election inspector and poll clerk shall receive two pesos per day, including election day, for actual service rendered by him.

Two watchers may be appointed for each polling place by the national directorates of the existing political parties or by their duly authorized representatives.

All judicial proceedings for the inclusion or exclusion of voters shall be filed not later than June one, nineteen hundred and forty, and shall be finally decided on or before June fifteen of the same year. The board of election inspectors shall make a final revision of the list of voters during the first hours of the election day.

The ballots to be used in the election shall be printed in both English and Spanish, and shall be substantially in the following form:



OFFICIAL BALLOT Balota Oficial

The National Assembly, by a vote of three-fourths of all its Members, has proposed that the Constitution of the Philippines be amended in the particulars hereinbelow stated.

To vote for the approval of each of the amendments proposed, write the word "YES" in the blank space opposite the particular amendment proposed.

To vote for the rejection thereof, write the word "NO".

La Asamblea Nacional, mediante el voto de las tres cuartes partes de todos sus miembros, ha propuesto que in Constitución de Filipinas sea enmendada en los puntos que más adelante se expresan.

Para votar por la aprobación de cada una de las enmiendas propuentas, escrbase la palabra "SI" en el espacio en blanco frente a la enmienda propuesta en particular.

Para votar por el rechazamiento de la misma, escribase la palabra "NO".

The boards of election inspectors shall prepare and sign three copies of the returns of the election in their respective polling places on a form to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. One copy shall be deposited in the ballot box for valid ballots and the two copies shall be delivered to the proper municipal or city treasurer, who shall immediately forward, by registered mail, one copy to the Secretary of the National Assembly and the other copy to the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That if for any reason there should be delay in the mailing of these returns to the Secretary of the National Assembly and the Secretary of the Interior, the National Assembly may act upon the basis of official telegraphic results received by the Secretary of the Interior and certified to by him to the Secretary of the National Assembly.

Within thirty days after the election, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall request the President of the Philippines to call a special session of the Assembly for the purpose of canvassing the returns and certifying the results of the election.

The sum of four hundred thousand pesos or so much thereof as may be necessary is appropriated, out of any funds in the Philippine Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the payment, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, of the expenses incurred in connection with the holding of the election, including the expenses necessary for the printing, publication, posting, and free distribution of copies of the proposed amendments to the Constitution and the Ordinance appended thereto, together with the new articles, in English and in Spanish, and, whenever practicable, in the principal native languages. Any unexpended balance of the amount herein appropriated shall revert to the general fund on July first, Nineteen hundred and forty-one.

Such portions of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-two as are in conflict with the provisions of this Act are repealed.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, April 25, 1940.