The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is the premier guardian of the ballot. It is an independent constitutional body charged with the exclusive power to administer and enforce all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections and other political exercises, such as plebiscites, initiatives, referenda and recalls. The periodic political exercises give meaning to our declaration in the Constitution that "sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them."

See Art. II, Sec. 1, Philippine Constitution

      Election is the means by which the people choose their officials for definite and fixed periods, to whom they entrust, for the time being, as their representatives, the exercise of powers of government.

1. Regular elections are those held regularly over a period of time as mandated by the Constitution:
   
   
   1. National Elections, for President and Vice-President , every 6 years, and for Senators, every 3 years
      
      
   2. Local Elections, for Members of House of Representatives, Party List Representatives and Provincial, City and Municipal Officials, every 3 years
      
      
   3. Barangay Elections, every 3 years, synchronized with the SK elections
      
      
   4. ARMM Elections, for Regional Governor, Regional Vice-Governor, and Regional Assemblymen for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), every 3 years
      
      
   5. Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections, every 3 years, synchronized with the barangay elections
   
   
2. Special elections:
   
   
   1. Plebiscite is the name given to a vote of the people expressing their choice for or against a proposed law or enactment submitted to them. In the Philippines, the term is applied to an election at which any proposed amendment to, or revision of, the Constitution is submitted to the people for their ratification.
      
      
   2. A referendum is the submission of a law passed by the national or local legislative body to the voting citizens for their ratification or rejection. Power of referendum is the right reserved to the people to adopt or reject any act or measure which has been passed by a legislative body, which would become a law without action on the part of the electors.
      
      
   3. An initiative is the process whereby the people directly propose and enact laws. Amendments to the Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative.
      
      
   4. Recall is a method by which a public officer may be removed from office during his tenure or before the expiration of his term by a vote of the people after registration of a petition signed by a required percentage of the qualified voters.

1. National elections: from the second Monday of May 1992
   
        for President and Vice-President: every six years, and
        for Senators: every three years,
   
   
2. Local elections for House of Representatives, and for provincial, city and municipal officials:
        every three years from the second Monday of May 1992

   See Sec. 2, Republic Act No. 7166

   
   

3. Barangay elections:
        every three (3) years after July 2002,
        to be held on the last Monday of October, synchronized with the SK elections
   
   
4. ARMM elections:
         every three (3) years from March 1993
   
   
5. SK elections:
        every three (3) years after July 2002,
        to be held on the last Monday of October, synchronized with the barangay elections

      Registration refers to the act of accomplishing and filing of a sworn application for registration by a qualified voter before the election officer of the city or municipality wherein he resides and including the same in the book of registered voters upon approval by the Election Registration Board.

See Sec. 3, par (a), Republic Act No. 8189

      No. Suffrage is not a duty but a right and a privilege that may or may not be exercised.

See Art. V, Sec. 1, Philippine Constitution

      Legally, no. Doing so would constitute an election offense.

See Art. XII, Sec. 115, Batas Pambansa Blg. 881    and Art. XXII, Sec. 261, Par. z, Subpar. 3, Batas Pambansa Blg. 881