Republic Act No. 73

H. No. 694 S. No. 102

The amendment to the Constitution of the Philippines to be appended as an Ordinance thereto, proposed by the Congress of the Philippines in a Resolution of Both Houses, adopted on September eighteen, nineteen hundred and forty-six, shall be submitted to the people, for approval or disapproval, at a general election which shall be held on March eleven, nineteen hundred and forty-seven, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

The said amendment 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 February eleven, nineteen hundred and forty-seven, and shall remain posted therein until after the election. At least, ten copies of the said amendment 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 Commission on Elections, shall also be kept in each polling place.

The provisions of Commonwealth Act Numbered Three hundred and fifty-seven, otherwise known as the Election Code, and Commonwealth Act Numbered Six hundred and fifty-seven, entitled "An Act to Reorganize the Commission on Elections," in so far as they are not inconsistent herewith, are hereby made applicable to the election provided for in this Act.

On or before February one, nineteen hundred and forty-seven, the Commission on Elections, shall, directly or through its authorized provincial representatives, appoint a board of election inspectors and a poll clerk. Two inspectors, one of whom shall be the chairman of the board, and their substitutes, shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the Liberal Nationalist Party; one inspector and his substitute shall be recommended by the Nationalist Party (conservative) and/or political parties coalesced with it in the last national elections; and the poll clerk and his substitute shall be chosen by the Commission on Elections.

Said boards of election inspectors shall meet, for the revision of the list of voters and for the registration of new ones, on February fifteen, nineteen hundred and forty-seven. Each election inspector and poll clerk shall receive five pesos for actual service on such day and ten pesos on election day.

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

All judicial proceedings for the inclusion or exclusion of voters shall be filed not later than February twenty-one, nineteen hundred and forty-seven and finally decided not later than March four of the same year. The boards of election inspectors shall make a final revision of the list of voters during the first hours of election day.

The ballots which shall be used in the election for the approval or disapproval of said amendment shall be printed in both English and Spanish and shall be in the size and form prescribed by the Commission on Elections: Provided, however, That at the back of said ballot there shall be printed in full the Resolution of Both Houses of Congress adopted on September eighteen, nineteen hundred and forty-six, proposing the amendment: Provided, further, That the questionnaire appearing on the face of the ballot shall be as follows:

To vote for the approval of the proposed amendment, the voter shall write the word "Yes" in the blank space after the question; to vote for the rejection thereof, he shall write the word "No".

The boards of election inspectors shall prepare and sign four copies of the returns of the election in their respective polling places on a form to be prescribed by the Commission on Elections. One copy shall be deposited in the ballot box for valid ballots, and the three copies shall be delivered to the respective municipal treasurers, who shall immediately forward, by registered mail, one copy to the Commission on Elections, one copy to the Secretary of the Senate, and one copy to the Secretary of the House of Representatives.

Within thirty days after the election, the Senate and House of Representatives shall hold a joint session, canvass the returns, and certify the result thereof.

The sum of one million pesos, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the payment, subject to the approval of the Commission on Elections, of the expenses which may be incurred in the holding of said election, including those for the printing, publication, posting, and free distribution of copies of the amendment, in English and in Spanish, and, whenever practicable, in the principal native languages.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved, October 21, 1946.