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EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE
S. B. NO. 616
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•19 
JUL 18 P I 3 6
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Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE PROCEDURE FOR 
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS DURING BARANGAY 
ELECTIONS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT 
NO. 8189, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE 
“VOTER’S REGISTRATION ACT OF 1996” AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Article V, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “suffrage may 
be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, 
who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the 
Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein they propose to vote 
for at least six months immediately preceding the election.”
The framers of the 1973 Constitution, from which the current provision 
was taken from, intended the residency requirements of one year in the 
Philippines and six months in the place where the voter intends to vote is 
followed strictly. This presupposes that the voter should be a resident of the 
same barangay during a national and barangay election.
However, the difference in dates of barangay and regular elections 
provide opportunities for voters to circumvent this legislative intent by 
transferring the location of their voter’s registration of residence from one 
barangay to another during the gap between a national and barangay election.
This gap also provides opportunities for unscrupulous candidates to 
induce voters to change their registration of residence months before the 
conduct of an election in order to add more potential votes to their roster.


Another reality is that these voters and candidates are not sanctioned 
for changing their registration of residence, which endangers the electoral 
process and renders it questionable.
Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen our current election laws to 
ensure that voters strictly comply with the requirement that they have resided 
in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six (6) months 
immediately preceding the election pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the 
1987 Constitution. Non-compliance with this rule should be sanctioned 
appropriately. To this effect, several provisions of the Voter’s Registration Act 
or Republic Act No. 8189 must be amended to make a true and effective 
barangay anW-hakot bill.
The immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
SENATOR ^ E L  VILLANUEVA


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE
S. B. NO. 6 1 6
0 t(a f o( tl)c A rtritn rp
•19 JUL 18 PI S6
RECl.' I- i
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
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AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE PROCEDURE FOR 
REGISTRATION OF VOTERS DURING BARANGAY ELECTIONS, 
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE 
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8189, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE 
“VOTER’S REGISTRATION ACT OF 1996”
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled;
SECTION 1. Section 9 of R.A. 8189 or the Voter’s Registration Act, is hereby 
amended to read as follows;
Section 9. Who may Register. All citizens of the Philippines not otherwise 
disqualified by law who are at least eighteen (18) years of age, and who 
shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one (1) year, and in the 
[place] BARANGAY, CITY OR MUNICIPALITY, 
DISTRICT OR 
PROVINCE, wherein they propose to vote, for at least six (6) months 
immediately preceding the election, may register as a voter.
Any person who temporarily resides in another BARANGAY, city[,j OR 
municipality, DISTRICT, PROVINCE or IN ANOTHER country solely by 
reason of his/HER occupation, profession, employment in private or 
public service, educational activities, work in the military or naval 
reservations within the Philippines, service in the Armed Forces of the 
Philippines, the National Police Forces, or confinement or detention in 
government institutions in accordance with law, shall not be deemed to 
have lost his/HER original residence.
Any person, who, on the day of registration may not have reached the 
required age or period of residence but, who, on the day of the election 
shall possess such qualifications, may register as a voter.


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SEC. 2. Section 12 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
SECTION 12. Change of Residence to Another City, [OR] Municipality 
OR BARANGAY. Any registered voter who has transferred residence 
to another city [or], municipality OR BARANGAY may apply with the 
election officer of his/HER new residence for the transfer of his/HER 
registration records.
NO TRANSFER OF A VOTER’S REGISTRATION TO ANOTHER 
CITY, 
MUNICIPALITY OR BARANGAY SHALL BE ALLOWED 
DURING THE PERIOD STARTING ONE HUNDRED TWENTY (120) 
DAYS BEFORE A BARANGAY OR REGULAR ELECTION AND 
NINETY (90) DAYS BEFORE A SPECIAL ELECTION.
The application for transfer of registration shall be subject to the 
requirements of notice and hearing and the approval of the Election 
Registration Board, in accordance with this Act. Upon approval of the 
application for transfer, and after notice of such approval to the election 
officer of the former residence of the voter, said election officer shall 
transmit by registered mail the voter’s registration record to the election 
officer of the voter’s new residence.
SEC. 3. Section 13 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section 13. Change of Address in the Same City or Municipality. Any 
voter who has changed his/HER address in the same city or 
municipality WHICH SHALL NOT FALL UNDER A CHANGE IN 
BARANGAY AS PROVIDED UNDER SECTION 12 OF THIS ACT, 
shall immediately notify the Election Officer in writing. If the change of 
address involves a change in precinct, the Board shall transfer [his] 
THE registration record to the [precinct] book of voters of [his] THE new 
precinct and notify the voter of [his] THE new precinct. All changes of 
address shall be reported to the office of the provincial election 
supervisor and the Commission in Manila.
SEC. 4. Section 24 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section 24. National Central File. There shall be a national central file 
under the custody of the Commission in Manila consisting of the third 
copies of all approved voter registration records in each city or 
municipality. It shall be compiled by precinct in each city[/] OR 
municipality and arranged alphabetically by surname so as to make the 
file a replica of the books of voters in the possession of the Election 
Officer. Thereafter, a national list shall be prepared following the 
alphabetical arrangements of surnames of voters.
There shall be a national file consisting of the computerized voters’ list 
(CVL), both in print and in [diskette] SOFT COPY, submitted by the 
Election Officers in each city and municipality concerned, under the 
custody of the Commission in Manila.


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The computerized voters’ list shall make use of a single and uniform 
computer program that will have a detailed storing capability to list 
voters alphabetically by the precincts where they vote, by the 
barangays, municipalities, cities or provinces where they reside [and] 
by their voter’s identification number (VIN), AND BY THE DATE OF 
THE ELECTION WHEN THEY LAST VOTED.
THE COMMISSION IN MANILA SHALL ENSURE THAT THE 
COMPUTERIZED VOTERS’ LIST IS UPDATED WITHIN THREE (3) 
MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF THE REGULAR ELECTION AND 
SHALL CONTAIN THE NAMES OF THE VOTERS WHO ACTUALLY 
VOTED DURING THE PREVIOUSLY HELD ELECTION.
THE LIST SHALL BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL ELECTION OFFICERS 
WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.
SEC. 5. Section 45 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section 45. Election Offenses. - The following shall be considered 
election offenses under this Act:
a) to deliver, hand over, entrust or give, directly or indirectly, his voter’s 
identification card to another in consideration of money or other benefit 
of promise; or take or accept such voter’s identification card, directly or 
indirectly, by giving or causing the giving or money or other benefit or 
making or causing the making of a promise therefore;
b) to fail, without cause, to post or give any of the notices or to make 
any of the reports re-acquired under this Act;
c) to issue or cause the issuance of a voter’s identification number or to 
cancel or cause the cancellation thereof in violation of the provisions of 
this Act; or to refuse the issuance of registered voters their voter’s 
identification card;
d) to accept an appointment, to assume office and to actually serve as 
a member of the Election Registration Board although ineligible thereto, 
to appoint such ineligible person knowing him to be ineligible;
e) to interfere with, impede, abscond for purpose of gain or to prevent 
the installation or use of computers and devices and the processing, 
storage, 
generation, 
and 
transmission 
of registration 
data 
or 
information;
f) to gain, cause access to use, alter, destroy, or disclose any computer 
data, program, system software, network, or any computer-related 
devices, facilities, hardware or equipment, whether classified or 
declassified;


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g) failure to provide certified voters and deactivated voters list to 
candidates and heads of representatives of political parties upon 
written request as provided in Section 30 hereof;
h) failure to include the approved application form for registration of a 
qualified voter in the book of voters of a particular precinct or the 
omission of the name of a duly registered voter in the certified list of 
voters of the precinct where he is duly, registered resulting in his failure 
to cast his vote during an election, plebiscite, referendum, initiative 
and/or recall. The presence of the form or name in the book of voters or 
certified list of voters in precincts other than where he is duly registered 
shall not be an excuse hereof;
i) the posting of a list of voters outside or at the door of a precinct on 
the day of an election, plebiscite, referendum, initiative and/or recall, 
and which list is different in contents from the certified list of voters 
being used by the Board of Election Inspectors; [and]
J) THE TRANSFER OF A VOTER’S REGISTRATION OF RESIDENCE 
CONTRARY TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 12 OF THIS ACT; 
AND
j) Violation of [the provisions] ANY OTHER PROVISION of this Act.
SEC. 6. Separability Clause. -  If any provision of this Act is declared invalid, 
the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.
SEC. 7. Repealing Clause. -  All laws, proclamations, executive orders, rules 
and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, 
modified or amended accordingly: Provided, That no person shall be deemed 
to be vested with any property or other right by virtue of the enactment or 
operation of this Act.
SEC. 8. Effectivity Clause. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national 
newspapers of general circulation whichever comes earlier.
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Approved,