Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNo. 8644

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA Reps. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C, CULLAMAT,
ACT TEACHERS Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I. ELAGO

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR TRANSPARENT ALTERNATIVE MANUAL-AUTOMATION
ELECTION SYSTEM FOR PHILIPPINE ELECTIONS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

One of the main problems in the purely manual Philippine elections before 2010 is the prevalence of
clectoral fraud and the delay in the proclamation of results. Because precincts are only allowed 200-
300 voters for each precinct, the large scale fraud and inordinate delay do not mainly happen in the
precinct level as the votes to be counted are few and the counting of said votes are finished on the
night after the elections or at most in the next day. The electoral fraud encountered normally in the
precinct level is vote buying, which of course, is not brought about by the fact that the election is
manual or automated, but rather by the unchecked spending of millions of pesos by candidates long
before election day.

Large scale fraud [in the form of dagdag-bawai] in purely manual elections mainly takes place in the
Municipality, City, Provincial and National canvassing process where thousands or even hundreds of
thousands of votes are canvassed. ‘The canvassing stage is also delayed for weeks, not only giving
room for fraudsters to conduct their dagdag-bavas operations but also causes uncertainty resulting
from the very long delays.

‘The solution offered by many was the elimination of purely manual elections and transforming the
system into purely automated elections. The automation law automates the entire election from the
precinct level up to the national canvassing. The problem in purely automated elections is the lack
of transparency and accountability in the entire process and, in the end, the credibility of the
elections because of the absence of a verifiable process that would assure the voters that their votes
were properly counted and canvassed. While there have been reports of rampant electoral fraud in
the election process (such as tampering with the source code, absence of scan and ultraviolet
security, hacking, manipulating results, and fraudulent operations of the transparency servers etc.),
the un-transparency of the entire process makes it difficult to investigate or gather evidence that is

cy


credible to the eyes of the people and the voters. That is why vigorous questions on the legitimacy
of the previous elections plagued the country every after elections.

‘The proposed Bill aims to provide a solution to the problem—it will retain the speed of automation
in the canvassing process where large scale fraud and delay normally takes place, but will institute a
manual voting process in the precinct level to verify and validate the results of the automated
canvassing process.

‘This way, the Philippine elections will not be held under a purely automated system controlled by a
technology company or anyone who has control over the technology employed. Since the
Transparent Alternative Manual-Automated Election System (TAMA lection system) being
proposed under this Act only requires computers with basic capacity to consolidate and transmit
election results, the estimated expense is only about 20-30% of the cost than if Comelec were to
spend billions to hire Smartmatic or any other tech company to conduct our elections for us. There
is no need for the untransparent and complicated technology of Smartmatic since any attempt at
hacking, or manipulating the results may now be countered and validated through the actual voting
results in the precincts and polling places.

‘The Philippines can have a manual counting of votes to show the people that their votes have been
counted, and an automated canvassing to ensure speedy canvassing of results, without incurring
billions of pesos in Smartmatic PCOS machines.

‘The basic principles of the exercise of our right to suffrage is secret voting and public counting. The
current automation law has made our elections basically secret voting and secret counting because
while canvassing is shown to the public, the people do not actually know how their votes were
counted or canvassed. In fact, there are instances when, because the automated ballots are large, the
candidates “shaded” by the voter are easily seen by the BEI and the public, making our election
system public voting and secret counting. This Bill seeks the return of these basic principles—a
transparent clection system that combines automation and manual elections to ensure that there is
indeed, secret voting and public counting.

‘The Bill contains a procedure that combines manual voting (in the precinct level) and automated
canvassing in the municipality, city, provincial and national level:

1) People vote in precincts under the Omnibus Election Code and Comelec procedure for
manual voting by writing their choice of candidates using ordinary ballots. These ballots will
be counted after the closing of the precinct after 3 pm.

2) The sesults will be tallied and recorded in view of watchers as in previous manual elections.
However, the precinct results will be consolidated at the Consolidation Center of polling
place (usually a school) and the precinct results will be encoded in a computer.

3) The consolidated results of the precincts in that particular polling place shall then be
transmitted by a secure and appropriate technology to the Municipal or City Canvassing
Boards, the Commission on Elections Central Server, the citizens election arm, or any other
party designated by the Commission. While the possibility of hacking or electronic fraud is

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there despite heightened security set up for the transmission, these attempts at fraud can be
countered and checked by the manually prepared election returns showing the actual results
in the precinct level.

4) The Municipal and City Board of Canvassers will canvass the results of the automated
transmissions to speed up the canvassing, although this time the automated results can now
be validated by the election returns in the possession of the Comelec, the Official Citizens
election arm, the Dominant Majority and Minority parties and other parties given copies of
the precinct election returns as well as the printed copy of the Polling Place results as
consolidated by the Consolidation Center in a particular polling place

5) Once the Municipal and City Board of Canvassers have canvassed the votes of the different
polling centers in their particular jurisdiction, they will announce the winners in that locality.
Ac the same time, they will transmit the results for the provincial, congressional and national
positions to the Provincial Board of Canvassers as well as the Commission on Elections, the
citizens election arm or any other party designated by the Commission.

6) The Provincial Board of Canvassers will follow the same procedure including the canvassing
of the transmitted results.

7) The Comelec National Canvassing Board for national positions and the Congressional
Canvassing Board for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections shall similarly canvass
the electronically transmitted results but this time, the results can be validated through the
manually prepared elections returns which shows the actual result per precinct as well as the
printed consolidated result from every polling place in the country.

‘The procedure is designed to be transparent and verifiable without sacrificing the need for speedy
results through an automated process.

In 2009 the Federal Court of Germany declared their automated election system unconstitutional.
The Court held that the particular voting machines used in the election did not live up to the
constitutional principle of transparency of elections, which requires that voting machines be
safeguarded against potential manipulation or error through procedures that are understandable to
the average citizen.’ The Court noted that, under the constitution, elections are required to be
public in nature and:

that all essential steps of an election are subject to the possibility of public scrutiny unless other
constitutional interests jusify an exception . . . The use of voting machines whieh electronically
record the voters’ voles and electronically ascertain the election result only meets the constitutional
requirements if the essential steps of the voting and of the ascertainment of the result can be
examined reliably and without any specialist knowledge of the subject... The very wide-reaching
effect of possible errors of the voting machines or of deliberate electoral fraud make special
precautions necessary in order to safeguard the principle of the public nature of elections.?

* hups:/ /www loc gov /law /forcign-news/ article /germany-constitutional-court-decision-on-clectronic-voting/
2 hups:/ /www.ndi.org/ e-voting: guide examples /constitutionalty-of-clectronic-voting- germany


Itis about time for the Philippines to remedy a similar anomaly that has plagued our elections for
years.

Hence, the approval of this Bill is earnestly sought.

Approved,
Th A AL
REP. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE
Bayan Muna Partylist

REP. FERDINAND R. GAITE REP. EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT

Bayan Muna Partylist Bayan Muna Partylist

Wy

REP. FRANCE L. CASTRO RE D. BROSAS

ACT Teachers Partylst GABRIELA Women’s Party

\
pe

REP. SARAH ANE I. ELAGO
Kabataan Pariylist


18

30

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 8644

Introduced by BAYAN MUNA Reps. CARLOS ISAGANI T. ZARATE,
FERDINAND R. GAITE and EUFEMIA C. CULLAMAT,
ACT TEACHERS Party-List Rep. FRANCE L. CASTRO,
GABRIELA Women’s Party Rep. ARLENE D. BROSAS
and KABATAAN Party-List Rep. SARAH JANE I ELAGO.

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR TRANSPARENT ALTERNATIVE MANUAL-AUTOMATION
ELECTION SYSTEM FOR PHILIPPINE ELECTIONS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Act Providing for Transparent Alternative
‘Manual-Automation Election System for Philippine Elections” (TAMA Election System).

SECTION 2. Section 31 of Republic Act No. 8436, as amended by Section 30 of RA 9369, is
hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 31. Rudes and Regulations. - The Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations
for the implementation and enforcement of this Act.

“Notwithstanding the foregoing canvassing procedure, the Commission is authorized to
prescribe other manner or procedure for the canvassing and consolidation of votes as
technology evolves, [subject to the provisions of section 7 hereof on the minimum
capabilities of the AES and other pertinent laws] PROVIDED THAT, WHILE THE
COMMISSION WILL NO LONGER REQUIRE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN
AUTOMATED ELECTIONS FROM PARTIES THAT WILL IMPLEMENT
‘THE AUTOMATED PROCEDURE UNDER THIS ACT, IT WILL STILL
ENSURE THAT THE WINNING BIDDER IS CREDIBLE AND THE
‘TECHNOLOGY OFFERED IS NOT OVERPRICED. FOR THE PURPOSES
OF THE MAY 10, 2022 ELECTIONS, HOWEVER, THE COMMISSION
SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS IN CONSONANCE
WITH THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE:


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(1) Filing of Certificates of Candidacy. -'The certificate of candidacy of any person
suoning for the office of the President, Vice-President, Senator, Member of
the House of Representatives, Party-list Representatives or any clective
provincial, city or municipal official shall be filed in twelve (12) legible copies
with the offices of the Commission specified hereunder not later than the day
before the date legally fixed for the beginning of the campaign period.

(@) The certificate of candidacy for President, Vice-President, Senators and
Party-list Representatives shall be filed with the main office of the
Commission in Manila;

(b) The certificate of candidacy for Members of the House of
Representatives shall be filed with the provincial election supervisor of
the province concerned. Those for legislative districts in the National
Capital Region shall be filed with the regional election director of said
region and those for legislative districts in cities outside the National
Capital Region which comprise one ot mote legislative districts shall be
filed with the city election registrar concerned;

(©) The certificate of candidacy for provincial offices shall be filed with the
provincial supervisor concerned; and

(@ The certificate of candidacy for city or municipal offices shall be filed
with the city or municipal election registrar concerned.

The certificate of candidacy shall be filed by the candidate personally or
by his duly authorized representative. No certificate of candidacy shall be
filed or accepted by mail, telegram or facsimile.

“(@) Official Ballots.

(@) Official Ballots for 2022 and the succeeding national and local elections
shall be of uniform size and shall be prescribed by the Commission: They
shall be printed in black ink on a security paper with distinctive, clear,
and legible watermarks which can be readily distinguished from ordinary
paper. Each ballot shall be in the shape of a (size) strip with stub and
detachable coupon containing the serial number of the ballot, and a space
for the thumb mark of the voter on the detachable coupon. It shall bear
at the top of the voter on the detachable coupon. It shall bear at the top,
in the middle portion thereof, the coat-at-arms of the Republic of the
Philippines, the word "Official Ballot", the name of the city or the
municipality and province in which the election is to be held, the date of
the election, and the following notice in English: "Fill out this ballot
secretly inside the voting booth. Do not put any distinct mark on any
part of this ballot."



(b) There shall not be anything printed or written on the back of the ballot
except as provided in Section 24 of RA 7166.

(© Official ballot for cities and municipalities where Arabic is of general use
shall have each of the titles of the offices to be voted for printed in
‘Arabic in addition to and immediately below the English title.

(@ Notwithstanding the preceding provisions, the Commission is hereby
authorized to prescribe a different form of official ballot on the same
watermarked security paper to facilitate voting by illiterate voter only and
to use or adopt the latest technological and electronic devices in
connection therewith as provided under Section 52 () of the Omnibus
Election Code.

(© The Voters shall fill out the ballots by writing the name of the candidates
in the ballots through a procedure prescribed under Sections 190 to 205
of the Omnibus Election Code.

“(@) Manner of Counting Votes. — In addition to the requirement in the fourth
paragraph of Section 12 of Republic Act No. 6646 and Section 210 of the
Omnibus Election Code, in reading the official ballots during the counting, the
chairman, the poll clerk and the third member shall assume such positions as
to provide the watchers and the members of the public as may be conveniently
accommodated in the polling place, an unimpeded view of the ballot being
read by the chairman, of the election return and the tally board being
simultaneously accomplished by the poll clerk and the third member
respectively, without touching any of these election documents. The table shall
be cleared of all unnecessary writing paraphernalia. Any violation of this
requirement shall constitute an election offense punishable under Section 263
and 264 the Omnibus Election Code.

‘The chairman shall first read the votes for national positions and shall only
read the votes for the local positions after reading the votes for all the
candidates for the national position. Any violation of this Section, or its
pertinent portion, shall constitute an election offense and shall be penalized in
accordance with Batas Pambansa Blg, 881.

‘There shall be a BEI assistor for each constituted BEI to be appointed by the
city or municipal BOC whose only function is to ensure the data image
capturing and the reproduction of the Election Return as provided under this
Act.


(4) Counting of Votes to be Public and without interruption, - As soon as the voting
is finished, the board of election inspectors shall publicly count in the polling
place the votes cast and ascertain the results. ‘The board may rearrange the
physical set up of the polling place for the counting or perform any other
activity with respect to the transition from voting to counting. However, it may
do so only in the presence of the watchers and within close view of the public.
At all times, the ballot boxes and all election documents and paraphernalia
shall be within close and unimpeded view of the watchers and the public.

‘The board of election inspectors shall not adjourn or postpone or delay the
count until it has been fully completed, unless otherwise ordered by the
Commission.

‘The Commission, in the interest of free, orderly, and honest election, may
authorize the board of election inspectors to count the votes and to
accomplish the election return and other forms prescribed under the code in
any other place within a public building in the same municipality or city on
account of imminent danger of widespread violence or similar causes of
comparable magnitude: Provided, That the transfer shall have been
recommended in writing by the board of clection inspectors by unanimous
vote and endorsed in writing by the majority of watchers present: Provided,
further, that the said public building shall not be located within the perimeter of
or inside a military or police camp, reservation, headquarters, detachment or
field office nor within the premises of a prison or detention bureau or any law
enforcement or investigation agency.

Any violation of this sub-section or its pertinent portion, shall constitute an
election offense and shall be penalized in accordance with Batas Pambansa
Big. 881.

(8) Election Returns, The board of election inspectors shall prepare the election
returns simultaneously with the counting of votes in the polling places as
prescribed in Section 210 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, as amended. The
recording of votes shall be made as prescribed in said section. The entry of
votes in words and figures for each candidate shall be closed with the signature
and the clear imprint of the thumb mark of the right hand of all the members,
likewise to be affixed in full view of the public, immediately after the last vote
recorded or immediately after the name of the candidate who did not receive
any vote. The returns shall also show: the date of the clection; the polling
place; the barangay and the city or municipality in which it was held; the total
number of ballots found in the compartment for valid ballots; the total
number of valid ballots withdrawn from the compartment for spoiled ballots
because they were erroneously placed therein; the total number of excess
ballots; the total number of marked or void ballots; and the total numbers of
votes obtained by each candidate, writing out the said number in words and


figures and, at the end thereof, the board of election inspectors shall certify
that the contents are correct. The returns shall be accomplished in a single
sheet of paper, but if this is not possible, additional sheets may be used which
shall be prepared in the same manner as the first sheet and likewise certified by
the board of election inspectors.

‘The Commission shall take steps so that the entries on the first copy of the
lection returns are clearly reproduced on the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth,
seventh and cight copies thereof, and for the purpose, this Commission shall
use a special kind of paper. Immediately upon the accomplishment including
the signing by the BEI of the election return, the poll clerk shall announce the
posting of the third copy of the election retum on a wall with sufficient
lighting within the premises of the polling place or counting center. He/She
shall then proceed to do the same in the presence of the other members of the
Board, the watchers, and those present in the polling place or counting center.

Without delay the poll clerk shall order the assistor of the BEI to secure an
image of the first copy of the election return using a camera and immediately
thereafter, print thirty (30) copies of the said election return in the election
results printing room within the polling center. A camera shall be included in
the clection paraphernalia distributed to the BEI with the ratio of one camera
per five precincts. A secured computer and photocopier shall also be assigned
as part of the clection paraphernalia for polling centers at the ratio of one
computer and photocopier per 50 precints, which shall be deployed at a
secured room within the polling center designated as “election results printing
room.”

A polling center is defined as the place, usually a public school, where the
municipal or city precincts are located.

Once the prints have been produced, the poll clerk shall call the other
members of the board to authenticate each print copy by closely comparing
the same with the first and second copy of the completed election return
simultancously in the presence of the watchers and within view of the public.
If the reprinted copy does not tally with both the aforementioned returns, the
BEI shall destroy the same by cutting the thirty (30) copies of the election
returned into four (4) parts and place these in the ballot box assigned for that
purpose and conduct the image capturing procedure all over again. all these
will be duly recorded in the BEI Log Book. If the Board finds each print a
faithful reproduction of the first and second copy of the election return, all
members thereof shall annotate and sign a certification to that effect on the
bottom front of the printed copy of the election returns. Each certified printed
copy shall be placed in an envelope and distributed to the recipients under
Sub-section 31.6, Designated recipients of the certified print copies may
receive their copies at the polling place or consolidating center.


Boavausunn

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Any clection return with a separately printed serial number or which bears a
different serial number from that assigned to the particular polling place
concerned shall not be canvassed. This is to be determined by the board
canvassers prior to its canvassing on the basis of the certification of the
provincial, city or municipal treasurer as to the serial number of the election
return assigned to said voting precinct, unless the Commission shall order in
writing for its canvassing, stating the reason for the variance in serial numbers.

If the signatures and/or thumbmarks of the members of the board of election
inspectors or some of them as required in this provision are missing in the
election returns, the board of canvassers may summon the members of the
board of election inspectors concemed to complete the returns.

‘The citizen’s arm is mandated to present for perusal its copy of the election
return to the board of election canvassers upon the request and expense of any
interested candidate. Refusal of the citizens arm to provide copies for perusal
or photocopying is an clection offense. Any violation of this election or its
pertinent portion, shall constitute an election offense and shall be penalized in
accordance with Batas Pambansa Blg. 881.

In addition, the following shall likewise be guilty of an election offense:

(@) Any person who removes the election return posted on the wall, whether
within or after the prescribed forty-eight (48) hours of posting, or defaces
the same in any manner;

(&) Any person who simulates an actual election return, or a print or digital
copy thereof,

(© Any person who simulates the certification in a print of an election
return;

(@ The chairman or any member of the board of election inspectors who,
during the prescribed period of posting, removes the election return
from the wall on which it had been posted other than for the purpose of
immediately transferring it to a more suitable place;

(©) The chairman or any member of the board of election inspectors who
signs or authenticates a print of the election return outside of the polling
place; and

(®) The chairman or any member of the board of election inspectors who
signs or authenticates a print which bears an image different from the
election return produced after counting and posted on the wall.

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(6) Number of Copies of Election Returns and their Distribution. The board of
election inspectors shall prepare in handwriting the election returns in their
respective polling place, in the number of copies herein provided and in the
form to be prescribed and provided by the Commission. The copies of
election returns shall be distributed by the chairman of the board of election
inspectors as follows:

(@) In the election of President, Vice-President, Senators and Members of
the House of Representatives including the Party-List Representatives:

1) The first copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal board of
canvassers;

2) The second copy shall be deposited inside the compartment of valid
ballots and shall immediately be brought for consolidation to the
consolidating center of the polling center,

3) The third copy to be posted on a wall within the premises of the
polling place;

4) The fourth copy for the Congress, directed to the President of the
Senate;

5) The fifth copy to the Commission;

6) The sixth copy to the dominant majority party as determined by the
Commission in accordance with law;

7) The seventh copy, to the dominant minority party as determined by
the Commission in accordance with law; and

8) The eight copy to a citizens' organization authorized by the
Commission to conduct an unofficial count; Provided, however, ‘That the
accreditation of the citizens’ arm shall be subject to the provision of
Section 52 (k) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881;

(&) In the election of local officials;

1) The first copy shall be delivered to the city or municipal board of
canvassers;

2) The second copy shall be deposited inside the compartment of valid
ballots and immediately brought to the consolidating center of the
polling center for consolidation

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3) The third copy, to be posted on a wall. Within the premises of the
polling place;

4) The fourth copy, for the Provincial or District Board of Canvassers;
5) The fifth copy, to the Commission;

6) The sixth copy, to the dominant majority party as determined by the
Commission in accordance with law;

7) The seventh copy, to the dominant minority party as determined by
the Commission in accordance with law; and

8) The cight copy, to a citizens’ organization authorized by the
Commission to conduct an unofficial count: Provided, however, That the
accreditation of the citizens’ arm shall be subject to the provision of
Section 52(k) of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881;

‘The copy of the election return posted on the wall shall be open for public
viewing at any time of the day for forty-eight (48) hours following its
posting. Any person may view or capture an image of the election return by
means of any data capturing device such as, but not limited to, cameras at
any time of the day for forty-cight (48) hours following its posting. After
the prescribed period for posting, the chairman of the board of election
inspectors shall collect the posted clection returns and keep the same in his,
custody to be produced for image or data capturing as may be requested by
any voter or any lawful purpose as may be ordered by competent authority.

The thirty (30) certified print copies of the election return for national
positions shall be distributed as follows:

i. The first fourteen (14) copies shall be given to the fourteen (14)
accredited major national parties in accordance with a voluntary
agreement among them. If no such agreement is reached, the
Commission shall decide which parties shall receive the copies on 'the
basis of the criteria provided in Section 26 hereof;

ii, The next three (3) copies shall be given to the three accredited major
local parties in accordance with a voluntary agreement among them.
If no such agreement is reached, the Commission shall decide which
parties shall receive the copies on the basis of criteria analogous to
that provided in Section 26 hereof;

iii, The next five (5) copies shall be given to national broadcast or print
media entities as may be equitably determined by the Commission in
view of propagating the copies to the widest extent possible;

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iv. The next two (2) copies shall be given to local broadcast or print
media entities as may be equitably determined by the Commission in
view of propagating the copies to the widest extent possible;

v. The next four (4) copies to the major citizens' arms, including the
accredited citizens’ arms and other non-partisan groups or
organizations enlisted by the Commission pursuant to Section 52(k)
of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881;

vi, The next copy to be placed inside the compartment of the ballot box
for valid ballots; and

vii, The last copy to the provincial board of canvassers.

‘The certified print copies may be claimed at the polling place. Any
unclaimed copy shall be brought by the chairman of the board of
election inspectors to the canvassing center where the recipients or
representatives may claim them. Copies still unclaimed at the canvassing
center shall be placed in the custody of the chairman of the board
lection inspectors, who shall produce them when requested by the
recipient or when ordered by a competent authority.

Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, any of the
recipients of the print or digital copies of the election return may
conduct an unofficial consolidation of votes and may announce the
result to the public.

Any violation of this section, or its pertinent portion, shall constitute an
election offense and shall be penalized in accordance with Batas
Pambansa Big. 881;

“(1) Computerized consolidation of precinct level votes in the polling center.

(@ The City or Municipal Board of Canvassers shall create the
Computerized Vote Consolidation (CVC) Board for each Polling Center
with at least fifty (50) precincts, within their respective jurisdiction
headed by the CVC Board Supervisor from the Comelec, a Deputy
Supervisor as the Auditor from the Department of Education and a
Third Member designated as the Encoder. The CVC Board will be
stationed in a designated area in the Polling Center which shall be called
the Computerized Consolidation Center (CCC). ‘The BOC shall create a
CVC Board which shall consolidate the votes of Polling Centers with less
than 50 precincts. This CVC shall be assigned in the Canvassing Center,

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)

usually the municipal or city hall, where the Computerized Consolidation
Center for these polling centers shall be established.

Other than the above members, the CVC Board shall consist of a team
of 2 members called the Consolidating Team for every fifty (50) precincts
in that particular polling center. The names of the members of all CVC
Boatds constituted by the Municipal or City BOC shall be posted in the
Comelee office and in the Polling Center at least 15 days before the
election. The CVC Board shall encode in duly inspected and sealed
CPUs the results in each precinct under the following procedure:

1) The CVC Board will convene at 6:00 in the evening of the election
day and will not be allowed to adjourn until the computerized
consolidating procedure is completed. Upon convening, the CVC
Board Supervisor shall allow official watchers of the parties and the
candidates to inspect the seals in the CPUs that will be used in
consolidating the results in that particular polling center. The same
computers shall have been inspected and sealed on the date exactly 7
days before the elections. The main seal of the said computer shall
come from the Comelec. Representatives of the 6 major accredited
political parties who inspected the said CPUs may also put in their
respective seals in each of the inspected CPUs.

2) After the Election Returns are signed, thumb marked and sealed by
the BEI, they shall distribute the election returns according to the
provisions under Sub-Section 31.6 The Second Copy mentioned
above shall also be sealed and brought by the BEI Chairperson to the
Consolidating Center and, together with the Ballot Box containing
the Ballots, submit the same to the CVC Board Supervisor.

3) Upon receipt, the CVC Board Supervisor shall open the ballot box
and take out the envelope containing the Second Copy of the ER
from the BEI, close the Ballot Box containing the Ballots of a
particular precinct and place the said Ballot Box in a secured area
within the Canvassing Center. He shall then assign the envelop
containing the particular election returns to a Consolidating Team of
the CVC Board in the order of thei receipt by the CVC Board. Such
assignment will be recorded in the CVC Board Log Book by the
Deputy Supervisor. ‘The said entry is open to all the watchers so that
they may immediately trace the Consolidating Team assigned for a
particalar precinct result. Only one accredited watcher per candidate
or political parties shall be allowed for each Consolidating team,

4) ‘The two-member Consolidating team is mainly tasked with encoding
the election returns of 50 precincts at the maximum in the duly
inspected and scaled CPU assigned to that particular team. One

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5)

9

member designated as the Reader will open the seal of the envelop
containing the election return and read aloud the statistical data of the
said Election Return and the same will be recorded in the CPU by the
other member designated as the Encoder. The Reader will then read
the votes of each candidate as stated in the election return which is
placed prominently in a table in the full view of the watchers and the
same shall be individually recorded by the Encoder in the designated
CPU, the screen of which shall also be in full view of the watchers
through an LCD screen with the capacity of at least 1000 lumens
provided for each said consolidation team constituted. The Election
Paraphernalia distributed by the Commission shall include one set of
LCD projector with the capacity of at least 1000 lumens, and a screen
for every consolidation team constituted. Election Returns, the
consolidation of which has been completed, shall be placed in a
designated Ballot Box and locked.

Any protest or objection will be recorded in the Team’s Log Book by
the Reader and will be forwarded to the Municipal or City BOC
which shall then decide on the said objections as provided under this
‘Act, of under pertinent laws not inconsistent with this Act. ‘The only
objection that will be allowed and resolved by the team in this stage
are when:

i, The Reader did not correctly read the vote or statistical data as
reflected in the election return,

ii, The Encoder did not correctly encode the vote or statistical
data read aloud by the Reader.

All protests and objections other than the above shall be filed with
the Municipal or City BOC when the results of the said Polling
Center will be officially canvassed by the BOC concerned.

Upon the completion of the encoding of all the precincts assigned
them, the Consolidating Team shall consolidate the results in these
precincts by adding all the votes of all the candidates into a Statement
of Votes by Precinct for that particular polling center. Objections on
error in the addition or computation of the votes shall also be allowed
and resolved immediately.

Upon completion of the consolidation, the Consolidating Team shall
print out eleven (11) copies of the Statement of Votes by Precinct,
sign and thumb mark the same and six (6) copies given to the
watchers of the six Major Accredited Parties or in their absence, any
of the watchers present, 1 copy each to the PPCRV and the citizen’s
arm accredited by the Commission, 1 copy to be retained by the team
Reader, and the last two copies each sealed in an envelope and given

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to the Deputy Supervisor of the CVC Board and the other for
delivery to the Municipal or City BOC.

After printing out the said official Statement of Votes by Precinct,
the team will then transmit the said result by LAN or any secure and
appropriate technology to a CPU designated as the Transmitting
CPU for the said Polling Center located in the same room of the said
Consolidating Center. The watchers may request that the same
results be copied in a CD that is provided by the watcher.

8) The said sealed Statement of Votes by Precinct will then be brought
to the Supervisor who shall place the same in a sealed Ballot Box.
Once all the Statement of Votes by Precinct for all the precincts in
that Polling Center shall have been printed and results electronically
transmitted by LAN to the Transmitting CPU, the Supervisor shall
open the Transmitting CPU and read the votes in the Statement of
Votes by Precinct recorded therein one at a time and in the order of
their transmission. Should the LAN system be unavailable, the
Supervisor shall read the votes of each candidate from the printed
SOV by precinct delivered by the Consolidating Team. ‘The Deputy
Supervisor shall open the sealed envelope for that particular
Statement of Votes by Precinct and ensure that what is being read by
the Supervisor is the same as that stated in the printed Statement of
Votes.

9) No objections shall be entertained by the Supervisor in this stage
except in cases where the Supervisor did not correctly read the vote
for a candidate as reflected in the electronic Statement of Votes and
where a discrepancy exists between the printed and the results
electronically transmitted by LAN.

10) Should any discrepancy exist between the printed and the Statement
of Votes by Precinct electronically transmitted through LAN, that
particular objection shall be immediately resolved by consulting the
Election Returns stored in the Consolidating Center. The said
election return shall be the decisive document in this stage. Should
the Election Return, the Printed Results and the Results electronically
transmitted by LAN contain different results, the CVC Board will still
record the results found in the Election Return without prejudice to
the filing by any party of an objection before the Canvass Committee.

11) While the supervisor is publicly reading the Results, the Third
‘Member of the CVC Board shall encode in one CPU designated as
the “Consolidating CPU” the Total Number of Votes for a particular
Candidate in the Statement of Votes by Precinct being read by the
Supervisor adding their votes and getting the sum total of votes of

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each candidate. Objections as to the accuracy of the addition or
consolidation of votes shall be entertained in this stage and
immediately resolved by the CVC Board.

12) Upon the completion of the reading of all the Statements of Votes by
Precinct in that Polling Center, the Supervisor shall copy all the
Statement of Votes sent by LAN to the Transmission Unit in thirty
30) read only CDs and print out 30 copies of the same. The
Commission shall include in the election paraphernalia 30 copies of
the Statement of Votes by Precinct for a particular polling center,
cach deemed an accountable form, with serial numbers and other
marks for identification purposes. ‘The three members of the CVC
Board shall sign and thumb mark the printed copies, place the same
in the envelope together with the CD and transmit the same to the
addressees listed under this Act.

13) The Third Member shall also consolidate, by addition, the total
number of votes for each candidate in the Statement of Votes by
Precinct in that Polling Center and create a Statement of Votes by
SOV for the entire Polling Center. Once consolidated, the Third
‘Member shall print out 30 copies of the Consolidated Statement of
Votes of SOV of the Polling Center which shall then be signed and
thumb marked by the three members of the CVC Board and also
placed in the envelope mentioned above.

14) The Third Member shall immediately transmit by LAN the said
consolidated Statement of Votes by SOV to the Transmitting CPU
and also print out two copies of the said consolidated Statement of
Votes, sign and thumb mark the same, and place it in an envelope.
The envelopes will be sealed and handed to the Supervisor and the
Deputy Supervisor of the Board respectively.

15) The Supervisor shall then read the consolidated votes of each
candidate in that particular polling center as contained in the
Statement of Votes Transmitted by LAN and projected in the LCD
Screen while the Deputy Supervisor shall open the sealed envelop
containing the same and ensure that what is being read by the
Supervisor is the same as that contained in the printed copy.

16) After the completion of all the above procedure, the Supervisor will
now show to the watchers, through an LCD Screen, the consolidated
Statement of Votes by SOV for that particular polling center that will
be transmitted to the BOC. The transmitted consolidated Statement
of Votes by SOV shall be the official basis used by the BOC for
canvassing all the votes in that Polling Center. Once the watchers are
given a reasonable time to view what will be transmitted, the

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Supervisor shall electronically transmit the Consolidated Statement of
Votes by SOV and the Statement of Votes by Precinct to the City or
‘Municipal BOC chairperson, the Commission accredited citizens arm
for quick count and, simultaneously upload the same to designated
secured website for that purpose.

17) After the transmission, the Supervisor shall record the transmitted
Statement of Votes by SOV of the Polling Center into 30 read only
CDs which will be placed in an envelope together with 30 printed
copies of the Statement of Votes by SOV duly signed and thumb
marked by the Supervisor, the Deputy Supervisor and the designated
watchers of the six major accredited parties. ‘The Commission shall
include in the election paraphernalia 30 copies of the Statement of
Votes by Polling Center, each deemed an accountable form, with
serial numbers and other marks for identification purposes. The
envelope intended for the Municipal or City BOC will be sealed and
placed in a Ballot Box designated as Transmission Ballot Box and
immediately delivered to the BOC. The rest will be reserved for the
addressees listed under this Act.

18) The data contained in the designated website shall not be the basis
for canvassing, but are merely for information purposes and may be
used as a means to counter check the accuracy of the results being
officially canvassed. ‘The document that shall be officially used for
canvassing shall be the results electronically transmitted to the BOC
backed up by the digitally stored data in the CD and the printed
Statement of Votes by SOV of the Polling Center.

19) If there is an objection or protest on a particular Statement of Votes
by Precinct, the duly printed and digitally stored Statement of Votes
duly signed by the Supervisor, Deputy Supervisor and watchers shall
be consulted. No resort to the election returns shall be allowed
unless the above are first resorted to.

“(8 Canvassing by Provincial City, District, and Municipal Board of Canvassers—The
procedure in the Municipal or City Canvassing shall be the immediate
canvassing of electronically transmitted results as follows:

(@ The Board of Canvassers shall convene at 7:00 pm of the day of the

election. Upon convening, the BOC shall formally inspect the CPUs
that will be used in the canvassing.

1) The Municipal or City BOC shall create one Sub Canvassing
Committee under it to aid the Board in counter checking the results
of the clection in Polling Centers within the jurisdiction of the Board.
It shall be composed of 3 members with the following functions: one

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3

4)

5)

9

member designated as the CD Validator, who will compare the
results being canvassed with the results in the CD; and 1 member,
designated as the Printed Result Validator, who will compare the
results being canvassed with the Printed Statement of Votes by SOV
of the Polling Center; and 1 member, as Recorder, who will record
and consolidate the votes being canvassed.

Upon receipt of the Transmission Ballot Box containing the
Statement of Votes by SOV of a particular polling center, and after
verifying that the said Ballot Box has not been tampered with, the
Chair of the BOC shall refer the said Ballot Box to the Sub
Canvassing Committee. ‘The verification of the BOC chairperson of
the integrity of the Transmission Ballot Box, and the assignment to
the Sub Canvassing Committee shall be duly recorded by the Vice-
Chairperson of the BOC. No objections shall be entertained at this
stage except those related to the integrity of the Transmission Ballot
Box.

An LCD Projector with a capacity of at least 1000 Lumens and a
screen sufficiently large so as to enable the watchers to view the
results being canvassed will then be set up connected to one CPU
located in the Canvassing Center and designated as Receipt and
‘Transmission CPU.

‘The Chairperson of the BOC shall be in charge of reading the results
contained in the transmission from the polling center to the BOC, the
Vice Chairperson shall be in charge of the Sub Canvassing
Committee ensuring that what is being read by the Chairperson is the
correct reflection of the data or results in the CD and the Printed
Statement of Votes by SOV of the Polling Center, while the Third
member shall be in charge of encoding the Canvassed Results in one
CPU also located in the Canvassing Center designated as the
“Canvass CPU” and consolidating the total votes from all the Polling
Centers canvassed by the BOC.

‘The Chairman will then open, through the Receipt and Transmission
CPU, the transmitted results from polling centers under the BOC,
one at a time, in the order of their transmission and read the
consolidated results for each and every candidate giving sufficient
time for possible objections or comments either from the watchers or
the Sub Canvassing Committee. ‘The transmitted results shall be the
official basis of the canvass.

During the reading, an objection may be raised on any discrepancy
between the results in the transmission being read by the chairperson
and, cither the CD or the Printed Statement of Votes by SOV being

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checked by the Sub Canvassing Committee. In case of discrepancy in
the results, the BOC will use preponderance of evidence to swiftly
resolve the objection which means that the Transmission Results is
the binding result and can only be overturned by the common results
in both the CD and the Printed SOV. In case all three sources have
different results, the questioned result for a particular candidate shall
be temporarily set aside or, should the entire SOV contain
discrepancies, the said SOV shall be temporarily set aside to be
resolved upon the proper filing of objection as outlined in Batas
Pambansa Blg. 881 as amended. The BOC shall then continue
canvassing those SOV per Polling Center that are not objected to.

7) Objections on the results of a particular precinct may also be filed in
cases where the Election Return of that particular precinct is not the
same as the result of that precinct in the Statement of Votes by
Precinct issued by the CVC Board of particular polling center. In this
case, the Board shall temporarily set aside the canvassing of that
particular precinct and order the CVC Board of that particular
precinct to immediately convene right there in the Canvassing Center
and make preliminary investigation on the objection and the election
returns concerned consulting the election returns in the custody of
the canvassing Committee, the statement of votes by precinct in the
CD, and the printed Statement of Votes by Precinct.

8) Other objections not related to the above “manifest errors” shall be
follow the procedure outlined for that particular objection in Batas
Pambansa Blg. 881 as amended.

9) Once all the Polling Centers in the City or Municipality are canvassed
the Third Member in charge of consolidating the results in all the
Polling Centers shall consolidate all the results for all the candidates
in the BOC Statement of Votes by Polling Centers and draft the
Certificate of Canvass for the City or Municipality. The BOC
Statement of Votes by Polling Centers and the draft Certificate of
Canvass shall be transmitted by LAN from the Canvassing Unit
under the control of the Third Member to the Receipt and
Transmission Unit under the control of the Chairperson. The said
results shall also be shown in the LCD Screen, ‘The Chairperson shall
then canvass the results in the Statement of Votes by Polling Centers
by reading the Total Number of Votes of cach candidate in the
Certificate of Canvass.

10) The Chairperson of the BOC shall then transmit, in full view of the
watchers, the results in the Statement of Votes by Polling Centers
and the Certificate of Canvass for the City or Municipality to the

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District BOC, if any, the Provincial BOC, the National BOC, and
the designated website.

11) The said Statement of Votes by Polling Centers shall be copied in 30
read only CDs and at the same time printed in 30 copies, signed and
thumb marked by all the members of the BOC and the watchers
from the six major accredited parties, placed in an envelope duly
signed and sealed and submit the said envelop to the BOC
Chairperson to be sent to or claimed by the 30 addressees listed
under this Act. One copy of the Printed SOV by Polling Centers
and its corresponding CD shall be sealed in an envelope placed in a
ballot box designated as the Canvass Ballot Box. It shall be
immediately be delivered to the District BOC, if any, or the
Provincial BOC.

12) The National, Provincial and District BOCs shall follow the same
procedure in the canvass of votes.

(b) The provisions of RA 8436 as amended by RA 9369 in relation to the
canvassing of votes of the national officials including the party list
representatives and the local officials including members of the House
of Representatives, by the national, provincial, and district board of shall
be applied as a general rule provided they are not inconsistent with this
Act.

{Q) Communication Channels for Electronic Transmissions, All _clectronic
transmissions of the election returns, certificates of canvass and other related
documents shall utilize secure transmission channels as recommended by the
DOST and the National Telecommunications Commission to ensure
authentication and integrity of transmission.

‘The Commission is hereby authorized to procure the necessary equipment,
facilities and services for putting up the electronic transmission system.

SECTION 3. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall
be charged against the 2021 appropriations for the Commission on Elections. Should this not
suffice the Commission on Elections shall submit to Congress a request for Supplemental Budget
recommending the necessary amount in order to implement herein Act in the 2022 elections,

SECTION 4. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, resolutions, revenue
regulations, ordinances or circulars inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed
or modified accordingly or declared null and void and inoperative.
SECTION 5. Effectivity. — ‘This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved,

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