Suffrage and Elections in the Philippines: A CSE Reviewer

Elections connect the Constitution to everyday public life, and they matter twice over for future civil servants: you will vote as a citizen, and as a government employee you will be bound by strict rules on partisan politics. This guide covers what the 1987 Constitution and the main election laws say, in the order a reviewer usually meets them.

Article V: who may vote

Article V, Section 1 gives the right of suffrage to citizens of the Philippines who:

• are not otherwise disqualified by law;
• are at least 18 years old on election day;
• have resided in the Philippines for at least one year; and
• have resided in the place where they propose to vote for at least six months immediately before the election.

The same section adds that no literacy, property or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage. Section 2 asks Congress to secure the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot, to provide a system for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad, and to design a procedure for persons with disabilities and illiterates to vote without the assistance of other persons.

The Commission on Elections

The COMELEC is one of the three Constitutional Commissions (with the Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Audit).

• Composition (Article IX-C, Section 1): a Chairman and six Commissioners, natural-born citizens, at least 35 years old, holders of a college degree, and not candidates in the immediately preceding election. A majority, including the Chairman, must be members of the bar with at least ten years of law practice.
• Term: seven years, without reappointment, with staggered terms.
• Powers (Section 2): enforce and administer all election laws; decide contests involving elective regional, provincial and city officials (original jurisdiction) and appeals involving municipal and barangay officials; register political parties; and deputise law enforcement agencies with the President’s concurrence.
• Review of decisions: a decision of a Constitutional Commission may be brought to the Supreme Court on certiorari within 30 days from receipt of a copy (Article IX-A, Section 7).

Election timetable

• Regular national and local elections are held on the second Monday of May (RA 7166). The President and Vice-President are elected every six years; senators serve six-year terms with half elected every three years; members of the House and local officials serve three-year terms.
• Election period: unless the COMELEC fixes otherwise in special cases, it begins 90 days before and ends 30 days after election day (Article IX-C, Section 9).
• Campaign period: 90 days for President, Vice-President and Senators; 45 days for members of the House and elective provincial, city and municipal officials. Exact dates are set by the COMELEC calendar for each election.

The party-list system

Article VI, Section 5 reserves 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives for party-list representatives. RA 7941 (1995), the Party-List System Act, implements it. Under that law each party, organisation or coalition may win at most three seats. In BANAT v. COMELEC (2009), the Supreme Court explained how the remaining party-list seats are allocated, and in Atong Paglaum v. COMELEC (2013) it clarified which groups may participate.

Main election laws to recognise

Law	What it does
BP 881 (1985)	Omnibus Election Code: the basic election law, including election offences such as vote buying
RA 7166 (1991)	Synchronised national and local elections; electoral reforms
RA 8189 (1996)	Voter’s Registration Act: continuing registration and permanent lists of voters
RA 9006 (2001)	Fair Election Act: lifted the ban on political ads and regulates campaign materials
RA 9189 (2003), amended by RA 10590 (2013)	Overseas voting for qualified Filipinos abroad
RA 9369 (2007)	Amended the automated election law (RA 8436)
RA 10366 (2013)	Accessible polling places for persons with disabilities and senior citizens
RA 10380 (2013)	Local absentee voting for media practitioners

A useful memory hook: the numbers rise with time. BP 881 was passed by the Batasang Pambansa in 1985, while the RA numbers grow from 7166 in 1991 to 10380 in 2013.

Vote buying and other offences

Under Section 261 of BP 881, both giving and accepting money or anything of value to influence a vote are election offences. Conviction can mean imprisonment, disqualification from public office and loss of the right to vote. The law protects the free choice of the voter, not the candidate.

Rules for civil servants

This is the part that matters most once you join the government. Article IX-B, Section 2(4) states that no officer or employee in the civil service shall engage, directly or indirectly, in any electioneering or partisan political campaign. In practice, that means you may vote and privately hold political views, but you should not campaign, solicit votes, distribute campaign materials or use your office or government resources for a candidate. The CSC and COMELEC issue joint rules for each election that list prohibited acts in detail, so read the current issuance when an election approaches.

How to study this topic

1. Learn Article V’s four requirements and the “no literacy or property” rule word for word.
2. Memorise the COMELEC numbers: 1 + 6 members, age 35, seven-year term, 30 days for certiorari.
3. Learn the period numbers as pairs: election period 90/30, campaign period 90/45.
4. Match each election law to its subject using the table.

Then practise with our elections and suffrage questions and review the civil service provisions of the Constitution. For each election, check dates and rules on the official COMELEC website.