PHILIPPINE COUNCILORS LEAGUE
10f DILG-NAPOLCOM CENTER, EDSA cor. Quezon Avenue, Quezon City
www.philippinecouncilorsleague.org
Excerpts from the minutes of the Management Committee Meeting held on December 17, 2016 at the Conrad Hotel, Pasay City, Metro Manila.
Present:
Coun. Elmer O. Datuin – Interim National Chairman
Coun. Maybelyn DC. Fernandez –Interim National President
Coun. Mohammad Ali Matabalao – Interim National Vice Chairman
Coun. Emmanuel Joaquin Pimentel – Interim National Secretary General
Coun. Sharon Macabebe – Interim National Treasurer
Coun. Jesus Cruz – Interim National Liaison Officer
Coun. Jose Netu Tamayo – General Legal Counsel
Ms. Alma Moreno – Past National Chairperson
Dr. Wilson Paclibar – Executive Director
PCL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE RESOLUTION
“RESOLUTION ADOPTING SUPPLEMENTARY GUIDELINES AND POLICY FOR THE 2017 PHILIPPINE COUNCILORS LEAGUE NATIONAL ELECTION AS AUTHORIZED BY THE NATIONAL BOARD”
WHEREAS, the PCL-Constitution and By-Laws provides that the National Board shall have the power to promulgate rules and guidelines for the conduct of elections of the different levels of the league;
WHEREAS, in order to have orderly proceedings, a uniform set of election guidelines had been adopted;
WHEREAS, during the 2nd Quarter National Board Meeting held last June 13, 2016 at the Limketkai Luxe Hotel, the PCL National Board adopted Resolution No. 21, Series of 2016 entitled: “Resolution Adopting the New Election Guidelines and Policy of the Philippine Councilors League”;
WHEREAS, during the 4th Quarter National Board Meeting held last December 7, 2016 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Pasay city, the PCL National Board adopted a resolution authorizing the PCL Management Committee to adopt Supplementary Guidelines and Policy on the Conduct of the 2017 Philippine Councilors League National Election, which shall include the Electronic Automated Voting System;
NOW THEREFORE, on motion of NVC Mohammad Ali Matabalao, duly seconded by EVP Benito Brizuela, be it;
RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED to adopt the Supplementary Guidelines and Policy for the 2017 Philippine Councilors League National Election as Authorized by the National Board.
Section 1. DEFINITION OF TERMS: For purposes of this policy the following terms shall mean:
a) Member of Good Standing - those who have paid their Membership Fee in the amount of P1,000.00 and term payment in the amount of P5,200.00, and no financial liability to the league;
b) City Chapter - a PCL organization similar to a Provincial Federation whose President is not entitled to sit as Ex-Officio Member of the Provincial Board in the Province due to their independence from the same;
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c) Financial Liability - means any unpaid amount, unremitted or unliquidated amount of money to the PCL City Chapter, Provincial Federation, Regional Council, Island Office or National Office;
Section 2. DATE and VENUE OF THE PCL NATIONAL ELECTION - As approved by the PCL National Board, the PCL National Election shall be conducted on March 9, 2017 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City.
Section 3. QUORUM – In order to lawfully conduct the PCL National Election, there must be a quorum of at least four hundred (400) members of good standing.
Section 4. NOTICE AND INVITATION - Proper notices shall be sent at least fifteen (15) days before the schedule of any election (PCL-CBL). The PCL Interim National Officers shall coordinate with the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government for the issuance of the notice and invitation to all Municipal and City Councilors stating therein the following:
a) The specified venue of the elections;
b) The specified date and time of the election;
c) The 10th National Congress Registration Fee of Php 11,500.00 per
participant (Php 8,000.00 for live out);
d) The Election Guidelines of the PCL duly approved by the DILG; and
e) The Memorandum Circular authorizing the Councilor’s Travel.
Section 5. PCL NATIONAL COMELEC, its composition – The National PCL COMELEC shall be composed of two (2) DILG representatives preferably the DILG Secretary as Chairman or his duly authorized representative and three (3) members of good standing from the pool of Provincial Federation Presidents who are not running for any office coming from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, who shall be chosen by drawing of lots, as members.
Section 6. NATIONAL ELECTIVE POSITIONS:
a) The following National Elective Positions, shall be elected at large, to wit:
· National Chairperson;
· National President;
· National Vice-Chairperson
· National Executive Vice-President
· National Secretary-General
· National Treasurer
· National Auditor
· National PRO
· National Liaison Officer
b) The following positions shall be elected by Island to wit:
· Island Vice-Chairperson
· Island Vice-President
· Island Secretary-General
· Island Treasurer
· Island Auditor
· Island PRO
Section 7. QUALIFICATIONS – Any PCL member interested in seeking national office must possess the following qualifications, to wit;
a) Must be a PCL member of Good Standing;
b) Must have filed his Certificate of Candidacy on time;
c) Must have no financial liability with the PCL whatsover;
d) Must be a regular Sanggunian member, not an ex-officio member (SK President, Liga ng mga Barangay President and Indigenous Peoples’ Representative); and
e) Must be physically present.
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No member with unsettled financial obligation or accountability to the League shall be qualified to be elected to any position in the League without certification from the National Treasurer and National Auditor for National positions and certification from the Island Treasurer and Island Auditor for Island positions. (PCL-CBL)
Section 8. FORMS – The PCL Interim National Officers shall instruct the PCL National Secretariat to prepare the Certificates of Candidacy, Official Ballots, Tabulation Forms, and Certificates of Canvass and all other forms to be used during the National Election. The form of Certificate of Candidacy is hereby attached as “Annex A” and shall form as an integral part of this policy.
Section 9. FILING OF CERTIFICATES OF CANDIDACY. Any PCL member interested to seek a national or island elective position shall file his or her certificate of candidacy not later than 5:00 o’clock in the afternoon of February 15, 2017 before the PCL National COMELEC, c/o the Bureau of Local Government Supervision, Department of Interior and Local Government, 25th Floor DILG-NAPOLCOM Center, EDSA corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.
Certificates of Candidacy may be secured from the PCL National Secretariat or downloaded from the Philippine Councilors League Official Website (www.philippinecouncilorsleague.org) or from the PCL Official Facebook Account and may be filed by mail, ie., registered mail, LBC or similar courier, provided that proof is presented that the mailing was done before the deadline.
Section 10. MANNER AND PROCEDURE OF VOTING – The manner and procedure of voting shall be as follows, to wit:
a) The voting shall be done by direct and secret balloting (PCL-CBL);
b) The ballot print out for the Islands shall be different in color;
c) The color of the ballot print outs shall be as follows, to wit;
· Yellow - for LUZON
· Light Green - for VISAYAS
· Orange - for MINDANAO
d) There shall be eighteen (18) Regional Voting Centers and shall be manned by their respective Regional Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Auditor or any of the Regional Officers in case of absence of any of the five (5) above mentioned;
e) Only candidates for National Chairperson and National President are entitled to one (1) watcher in every Regional Voting Center;
f) All Voting Centers must bare the list of Candidates for each position;
g) All Regional Voting Centers must have a Ballot Box of their own to be provided by the PCL National COMELEC;
h) All Regional Voting Centers must be within the view of the PCL National COMELEC;
i) All voting shall be done at their respective voting centers, where a table shall be provided to accommodate at least ten (10) voting delegates at the same time;
j) All voting delegates shall be called by Province in alphabetical order, the ballot shall be handed to the delegate:
1) After the presentation of any of his/her I.D. duly laminated with
his picture or any proof approved by the PCL National COMELEC;
2) After due verification on the list of members of good standing of
their Province which shall be done by the Regional Secretary and
Treasurer; and
3) After presentation of his/her 10th National Congress Registration
Fee Official Receipt (OR).
k) After the casting of votes, the Regional COMELEC shall then canvass the votes and present the canvass results duly attested to by the PCL Regional COMELEC to the PCL National COMELEC for overall Tally Board by Region, and add the Grand Total of the votes cast for every candidate and thereafter proclaim the winners;
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l) No pre-proclamation protest is allowed; Post proclamation protest shall be
entertained if the same is filed within 24 hours from the time of proclamation;
All candidates for the National Elective Position shall be given a maximum of three (3) minutes to introduce himself/herself and deliver his/her campaign speech; The speech must maintain utmost degree of professionalism and must not contain any personal attack.
m) Delegates who have already cast their votes must submit themselves back to the Regional Voting Center-in charge for indelible ink marking at the right forefinger;
n) The PCL National COMELEC shall, after the recording at the General Tally Board and adding the votes garnered from the different Regional Voting Centers, proclaim the winners and immediately facilitate the Oath taking of the winners;
o) Voting by mail is not allowed;
p) The casting of votes shall be from 1:00 in the afternoon until 4:00 in the afternoon on the date set by the National Board. Councilors who are still in queue in the Regional Voting Centers before 4:00 in the afternoon shall be allowed to vote;
q) Should a candidate or more is unopposed for the position aspired for, one (1) vote shall be enough to declare them elected for the said position;
r) The voting shall be done electronically using an automated system duly approved and authorized by the National Board. In case of PCL’s inability to conduct electronic voting, manual voting shall be conducted.
Section 11. GENERAL PROVISIONS - The following General Provisions shall apply at all times in the enforcement of this Policy:
a) There shall be no election by ABSENTIA;
b) No political party name shall be allowed;
c) No intermission numbers shall be allowed, if the purpose or intention is to campaign for or against a certain candidate. Intermission numbers as much as possible shall be allowed after the proclamation of the winners
d) The Election Rules and Guidelines of the Republic of the Philippines shall have suppletory effect in all PCL elections;
e) Only Councilor delegates are allowed to enter and campaign inside the Convention Area.
f) No campaign paraphernalia shall be placed inside the kit bag.
g) The PCL National COMELEC shall designate a common poster area outside the convention area.
h) No black propaganda or any sort of poison letter shall be allowed.
Section 12. PROTEST AND DISQUALIFICATION PETITION – No pre-election or pre-proclamation protest or petitions for disqualification shall be entertained on or before the day of any PCL election. The same, however, may be filed before the PCL National COMELEC but the same shall be treated as a regular election protest, which must be in writing, stating the grounds therefore and attaching the documentary evidence, if any. All protest must be filed within twenty-four (24) hours from the time of proclamation. A copy thereof will be served against the adverse party preferably by personal service by the PCL National COMELEC.
Section 13. GROUNDS – The following shall be the grounds for protest or disqualification petition:
a. Violation of the provisions of this PCL election policy guidelines;
b. Violation of the provisions of the Omnibus Election Code (BP 881), as amended;
c. Misappreciation in the counting of ballots;
d. The proclaimed winner is not qualified to run for the position.
Section 14. DECISION ON PETITIONS – The PCL National COMELEC shall decide the protest or disqualification petitions within seventy-two (72) hours from the filing of the last pleading. They may require the submission of position papers, affidavits and
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counter – affidavits ; request the assistance of concerned agencies such as the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) or the DILG Legal Department as amicus curiae; or hold a hearing to determine a particular set of facts or hear the oral arguments of the parties. Thereafter, the PCL National Comelec shall, by a majority vote of its members, render a decision in writing, furnishing copies thereof to the protestants and the protestee within twenty-four (24) hours.
Section 15. APPEAL PERIOD AND VENUE OF FILING – All decisions of the PCL National COMELEC shall be final and executory unless appealed to the PCL National Board, thru the Chairperson of PCL National COMELEC, by any or both parties within five (5) calendar days from receipt of such decision. If the fifth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Holiday, the last day to perfect the appeal shall be the next working day.
Section 16. GROUNDS ON APPEAL – The appeal may be entertained only on any of the following grounds;
1) If there is prima facie abuse of discretion on the part of the PCL National COMELEC;
2) If the decision was secured through fraud or coercion, including graft and corruption;
3) If made purely on questions of law; and
4) If serious errors in the findings of facts are raised which, if not corrected, would cause grave or irreparable damage or injury to the appellant.
Section 17. REQUISITES FOR PERFECTION OF APPEAL – The appeal shall be filed within the reglementary period as provided in Section 15 of this Guidelines; the same shall be under oath and shall be accompanied by a Memorandum of Appeal which shall state the grounds relied upon and the arguments in support thereof, the relief prayed for, and a statement of the date when the appellant received the decision of the PCL National COMELEC on the petitions for protest or disqualification, with a certified copy of said decision.
A mere notice of appeal without complying with the other requisites aforestated shall not stop the running of the period for perfecting an appeal.