Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA R. SALVADOR-TAMBUNTING 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The right of the electorate to choose freely a qualified candidate at a general election 
implies the exercise of voting or abstaining from participating therein. The unnecessary burden 
of removing a registered voter in the registration of voters for the reason of not having 
participated in two successive regular elections is uncalled-for or unreasonable. This practice 
should be stricken down because it causes additional workload for COMELEC to deactivate those 
individuals and another troublesome set of procedures to re-activate those voters as the latter 
would be required again to appear in person before the COMELEC personnel. 
The right to suffrage not only includes the right to vote for one’s chosen candidate, but 
also the right to vocalize that choice to the public in general, in the hope of influencing their 
votes. It may be said that in an election year, the right to vote necessarily includes the right to 
free speech and expression. The protection of these fundamental constitutional rights, therefore, 
allows for the immediate resort to this court.1  
This bill is sought to give consideration on a voter’s inactivity or inaction during an election 
and not faulting the voter by deactivating its registration with COMELEC. To uphold the essence 
of democracy our nation must not restrict or demand its electorate to exercise its right when it 
chooses not to do so. 
On behalf of the people of Parañaque City’s Second District, and for the common good of 
the Filipino people, the approval of the said measure is earnestly sought. 
JOY MYRA R. SALVADOR-TAMBUNTING 
2nd District, Parañaque City 
1 THE DIOCESE OF BACOLOD, REPRESENTED BY THE MOST REV. BISHOP VICENTE M. NAVARRA and THE BISHOP 
HIMSELF IN HIS PERSONAL CAPACITY, Petitioners, 
vs. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS AND THE ELECTION OFFICER OF BACOLOD CITY, ATTY. MAVIL V. 
MAJARUCON, Respondents, January 21, 2015, G.R. No. 205728 
December 17, 2021
4:24 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA R. SALVADOR-TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT REPEALING THE CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION OF VOTERS WHO 
DID NOT VOTE FOR IN THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING TWO SUCCESSIVE 
REGULAR ELECTIONS  
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled.  
Section 1. Section 16 of the Republic Act No. 3588 otherwise known as the “AN ACT TO 
PROVIDE FOR PERMANENT REGISTRATION OF VOTERS AND FOR THIS PURPOSE TO 
POSTPONE THE GENERAL RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION OF VOTERS WHICH IS SET FOR 
NINETEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE” is hereby amended to read as follows: 
Section 16. Cancellation due to death, conviction, and failure to vote in 
two successive preceding elections. The election registrar shall remove the 
voter's application for registration from the corresponding precinct book of voters 
of the following after entering therein the cause for cancellation and shall place 
them in the inactive file: 
(a) Those who have since died as certified to at the end of each month by the
local civil registrar. 
(b) Those who have since been sentenced by final judgment to suffer an
imprisonment of not less than one year or found guilty of having violated their 
allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines as certified to at the end of each month 
by the clerk of court, the clerk of the municipal court in chartered cities and the 
justice of the peace. 
The election registrar shall notify by mail or by personal delivery the registered 
voter of his cancellation and the ground thereof and require the surrender of his 
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voter's identification card. In cases of death, all notices and requirements shall be 
directed to the voter's next of kin. 
The name cancelled shall be published on the bulletin board immediately stating 
the reason for the cancellation and shall be reported to the Commission on 
Elections and the Provincial Central File together with copies of the certified 
statements of the local civil registrar, the clerk of court, the clerk of the municipal 
court of chartered cities and the justice of the peace. The Provincial Central File 
and the Commission on Elections shall accordingly remove the application for 
registration of the voters and file them in the inactive file after entering in their re- 
of notice of the decision by the barrio council concerned registration. 
 
Sec. 2.  Section 123 of the Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 or otherwise known as the “Omnibus 
Election Code of the Philippines” is hereby amended to read as follows: 
 
 
 
Section 123. Cancellation and exclusion in the transfer of names. 
- In transferring the names of the voters of the precinct from the list used in the 
preceding election to the current list, the board shall exclude those who have 
applied for the cancellation of their registration, those who have died, those who 
have been excluded by court orders issued in accordance with the provisions of 
this Code, and those who have been disqualified, upon motion of any member of 
the board or of any elector or watcher, upon satisfactory proof to the board and 
upon summons to the voter in cases of disqualification. The motion shall be 
decided by the board without delay and in no case beyond three days from its 
filing. Should the board deny the motion, or fail to act thereon within the period 
herein fixed, the interested party may apply for such exclusion to the municipal 
or metropolitan trial court which shall decide the petition without delay and in no 
case beyond three days from the date the petition is filed. The decision of the 
court shall be final. The poll clerk shall keep a record of these exclusions and shall 
furnish three copies thereof to the election registrar who shall, in turn keep one 
copy and send the two other copies thereof to the provincial election supervisor 
and the Commission, to be attached by them to the permanent list under their 
custody. 
 
Sec. 3. Separability Clause. – Should any provision of this Act be declared invalid, or 
unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and subsisting. 
 
 
 
Sec. 4. Repealing Clause. –  Section 16 paragraph (c) of REPUBLIC ACT No. 3588 and 
Section 123 of the Election Code of the Philippines stating the cancellation of registration 
of those who did not vote in the immediately preceding two successive regular elections 
is hereby repealed. All laws, executive orders, or administrative orders, rules and 


regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby amended, 
repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
Sec. 5. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.