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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. The elections of barangay officials set on the second Monday of November 1988 by Republic Act No. 6653 are hereby postponed and reset to March 28, 1989. They shall serve a term which shall begin on the first day of May 1989 and ending on the thirty-first day of May 1994.
There shall be held a regular election of barangay officials on the second Monday of May 1994 and on the same day every five (5) years thereafter. Their term shall be for five (5) years which shall begin on the first day of June following the election and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified: Provided, That no barangay official shall serve for more than three (3) successive terms.
The barangay elections shall be nonpartisan and shall be conducted in an expeditious and inexpensive manner.
SEC. 2. When for any serious cause such as rebellion, insurrection, violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia, and any analogous causes of such nature that the holding of a free, orderly and honest election should become impossible in any barangay, the Commission on Elections motu proprio or upon sworn petition of ten (10) registered voters of a *barangay, after summary proceedings of the existence of such grounds, shall suspend or postpone the election therein to a date reasonably close to the date of the election that is not held or is suspended or postponed, or which resulted in a failure to elect, but not later than thirty (30) days after the cessation of the cause for such suspension or postponement of the election or failure to elect, and in all cases not later than ninety (90) days from the date of the original election.
SEC. 3. The construction or maintenance of provincial, city, municipal and barangay-funded roads and bridges shall be prohibited for a period of ten (10) days immediately preceding the date of election, the provisions of Section 261, paragraphs (v) and (w), of the Omnibus Election Code to the contrary notwithstanding.
SEC. 4. All incumbent barangay officials, whether elected, appointed or designated, shall remain in office unless sooner removed or suspended for cause and with due process by order of the city or municipal mayor concerned until their successors shall have been elected and qualified. Any barangay official who has been removed from office from January 1, 1988 to the date of the approval of this Act may, within fifteen (15) days after the effectivity of this Act, file a petition for review with the Office of the President which shall be decided within fifteen (15) days from receipt thereof: Provided, That upon effectivity of this Act, the power of removal or suspension for cause of barangay officials and filling up of vacancies in the various elective offices of the barangay shall be exercised by the city or municipal mayor concerned, subject to appeal to the President: Provided, further, That pending appeal, the order of removal or suspension shall not be executory.
SEC. 5. There shall be a sangguniang barangay in every duly constituted barangay which shall be the legislative body and shall be composed of seven (7) kagawads to be elected by the registered voters of the barangay. The candidate who obtains the highest number of votes shall be the punong barangay and in the event of a tie, there shall be a drawing of lots under the supervision of the Commission on Elections. The chairman of the kabataang barangay who shall hereafter be elected in accordance with law shall be an ex officio member of the sangguniang barangay. In the event of any vacancy in the office of the punong barangay, whether temporary or permanent, or in case of disqualification or refusal to assume office, an order of succession among the six (6) members of the sangguniang barangay based upon the number of votes received from the highest to the lowest shall be followed to fill up the vacancy. In default of any duly elected member of the sangguniang barangay, the vacancy may be filled up by the city or municipal mayor concerned.
SEC. 6. The official ballots for the barangay elections shall,
before they are handed to the voters at the polling place, be
authenticated by the chairman and the poll clerk who shall affix
their signatures at the back thereof. Any ballot which is not
authenticated shall he deemed spurious.
SEC. 7. No person shall be eligible for any barangay position
unless he files a sworn certificate of candidacy with the election
registrar of the city or municipality concerned at least ten (10)
days immediately before the day of the election. The form and
content of the certificate of candidacy shall be prescribed by the
Commission on Elections. The campaign period shall be ten (10)
days immediately before the election: Provided, That no campaign
shall be allowed on Holy Thursday and Good Friday for the barangay
elections in 1989.
SEC. 8. Incumbent elective officials running for the same office
shall not be considered resigned upon the filing of their
certificates of candidacy. They shall continue to hold office
until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.
SEC. 9. A sworn petition contesting the election of a barangay
official may be filed with the proper municipal or metropolitan
trial court by any candidate who has duly filed a certificate of
candidacy and has been voted for a barangay office within ten (10)
days after the proclamation of the results of the election. The
trial court shall decide the election protest within thirty (30)
days after the filing thereof. The decision of the municipal or
metropolitan trial court may be appealed within ten (10) days from
receipt of a copy thereof by the aggrieved party to the regional
trial court which shall decide the issue within thirty (30) days
from receipt of the appeal and whose decision on questions of fact
shall be final and non-appealable. For purposes of the barangay
elections, no pre-proclamation cases shall be allowed.
SEC. 10. The Commission shall constitute, not later than ten
(10) days immediately before the election, a board of election
tellers in every barangay polling place, to be composed of three
(3) public schoolteachers, one of whom shall be the chairman,
provided they are not incumbent barangay officials or related
within the fourth civil degree of affinity or consanguinity to any
candidate for any position in that barangay. In case no public
schoolteachers are available, the Commission shall designate any
registered voter, preferably a regular government employee, in the
polling place who is not an incumbent barangay official or related
within the fourth civil degree of affinity or consanguinity to any
candidate for any position in that barangay.
SEC. 11. The Commission shall provide ballot boxes for each
barangay polling place together with padlocks and other election
paraphernalia.
SEC. 12. Violations of the rules and regulations issued by the
Commission are considered prohibited acts under the Omnibus
Election Code and shall be prosecuted and penalized in accordance
with the same Code.
SEC. 13. All candidates for barangay kagawad shall be required
to file sworn post-election statements of expenditures and
contributions as provided in Section 107 of the same Code.
SEC. 14. For purposes of the barangay elections, the election
registrars of the Commission on Elections are authorized to
administer oaths on all matters related to the conduct of said
election.
SEC. 15. The amount of One hundred and fifty million pesos
(P150,000,000.00) to defray the share of local government units in
the expenses in connection with the conduct of these elections, to
be disbursed by the Commission on Elections, is hereby authorized
to be appropriated from the general fund of the Government not
otherwise appropriated or from any savings therein, to be included
in the General Appropriations Act for the Calendar Year 1989.
SEC. 16. The Omnibus Election Code shall as far as practicable
be applicable to the barangay elections.
SEC. 17. If any part or provision of this Act is declared
invalid or unconstitutional, the other parts or provisions thereof
shall remain valid and effective.
SEC. 18. All laws, decrees, executive orders, letters of
instruction, or any part thereof which may be inconsistent with
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 19. This Act shall take effect upon its approval and
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
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