Sec. 7. Special Board of Election Inspectors; constitution and appointment. –At least one (1) SBEI shall be constituted in every country/Post for purposes of voting and/or counting.

For purposes of voting, each SBEI shall handle not more than 4,000 voters. In excess of 4,000 voters, additional SBEIs may be constituted, upon approval by the COAV.

The SBEI shall be composed of a chairman who shall be a public officer posted abroad designated by the Commission, and two (2) members, who shall be citizens of the Philippines, qualified to vote under the R.A. 9189 deputized by the Commission, one of whom shall be designated as Poll Clerk and the other as Third Member.

The Commission shall constitute the SBEIs not later than February 11, 2010 subject to substitution in case of ineligibility due to prohibited relationship to candidates after the filing of certificate of candidacy. The representative of the Commission in the Post shall issue the Appointment of the Chairman/Poll Clerk/Members/Substitutes of the SBEI/SBRCG (OAVF No. 5).

Sec. 8. Qualifications of members of the SBEI. – No person shall be appointed as chairman or member of the SBEI, whether regular or substitute, unless he:

a) Is of good moral character and irreproachable reputation;

b) Is qualified to vote under R.A. 9189;

c) Has never been convicted of any election offense or of any other crime punishable by more than six (6) months of imprisonment, or has no pending case filed against him for any election offense; and

d) Is able to speak and write English or Pilipino.

In case there are not enough qualified staff of the Posts, citizens of the Philippines who are qualified to vote under R.A. 9189, and of known probity and competence, may be appointed as members of the SBEI, provided that the chairman shall be a staff of the Posts. The representative of the Commission in the Post shall issue the Appointment of the Chairman and members of the SBEI (OAVF No. 5)

Sec. 9. Disqualification. – No person shall serve as chairman or member of the SBEI if he or his spouse is related within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to any member of the same SBEI or to any of the candidates for President, Vice-President, Senators and to any of the nominees for the party-list system of representation.

Sec. 10. Notice of disqualification. – Any member of the SBEI who is disqualified for any of the above reasons shall notify the head of the Post in writing, who shall, in turn submit a replacement to the Commission through the COAV for appointment.

Sec. 11. Temporary vacancies in the SBEI/SBRCG. – If at the time of the meeting of the SBEI/SBRCG, any member is absent or the office is still vacant, the members present shall call upon any substitute taken from the pool of substitutes, to perform the duties of the absent member. If the substitute cannot be found, the Head of the Post shall appoint any available official or employee of the Foreign Service corps or non-partisan registered voter not otherwise disqualified to temporarily fill said vacancy until the absent member appears or the vacancy is filled.

The fact of substitution shall be entered in Part V of the Minutes of Personal Voting (OAVF 11).

For this purpose, the Posts shall constitute a pool of substitutes for the SBEI/SBRCG which will likewise be deputized by the Commission.

Sec. 12. Oath of members of the SBEI/SBRCG. – The members of the SBEI/SBRCG shall, before assuming their office, take an oath by accomplishing the Oath of SBEI/SBRCG (OAVF No.5-A) before an officer authorized to administer oaths or, in the absence thereof, before any other member of the SBEI/SBRCG present or, in case no other member is present, before any overseas absentee voter. The accomplished Oaths of SBEI/SBRCG shall be submitted to the SBRCG.

Sec. 13. Powers and functions of the SBEI. – The SBEI shall have the following powers and functions:

a) Conduct the voting and/or counting of votes in personal voting, and the counting of votes in postal voting in countries where the same has been authorized by the Commission;

b) Act as deputies of the Commission in the supervision and control of the election in the polling place where they are assigned;

c) Maintain order within the polling place and its premises, to keep access thereto open and unobstructed, and to enforce obedience to its lawful orders. If any person refuses to obey its lawful order, or conducts himself in a disorderly manner in its presence or within its hearing and thereby interrupts or disturbs its proceeding, the SBEI may call upon the security force of the Post, if any, or its deputized peace officer to take such person into custody until the adjournment of the meeting, but such order shall not be executed as to prevent the person from voting; and,

d) Perform such other functions as may hereinafter be prescribed by the Commission.

Sec. 14. Proceedings of the SBEI. – The meeting of the SBEI shall be public and held in the polling place designated by the Commission. The SBEI shall act through its Chairman and shall decide, without delay, by a majority vote, questions which may arise in the performance of its duties.

Sec. 15. Minutes of Personal Voting. – The SBEI shall accomplish in two (2) copies the Minutes of Personal Voting (OAVF No. 11) and record the act or data required therein as they occur or become available during the voting. Copies of the OAVF No. 11 shall be sealed in separate envelopes to be distributed as follows:

a) First copy to the Commission; and

b) Second copy to be deposited inside the ballot box.

Sec. 16. Prohibition against political activity. – No member of the SBEI/SBRCG shall engage in any partisan political activity or take part in the elections except to vote and discharge his duties such as rendering assistance in accordance with usual protocol courtesies normally extended to visiting officials on official business.

Sec. 17. Supervision by heads of Posts. – All foreign service personnel and representatives of attached agencies duly deputized by the Commission shall be under the direct supervision of the Heads of Posts insofar as the One Country Team Approach is concerned.

Article II

Table of Contents

Article IV