AMENDING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 229 FOR THE PURPOSE OF AUTHORIZING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING MILITARY PERSONNEL, TO VOTE IN THEIR PLACE OF ASSIGNMENT AND OT…

WHEREAS, barangay democracy derives its strength from the
participation of as many qualified citizens as possible in referendums and/or
consultations;

WHEREAS, in the referendum of July 27, military personnel,
government officials and employees, including those in government-owned or
controlled corporations who are registered in the provinces may not have
sufficient time to go there to cast their votes; and

WHEREAS, provision must be made in the case of barrios or
barangays where the conditions of peace and order are unsettled, to the end that
the barangay members thereof be not deprived of their right to vote;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as
Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to
Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated
September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and decree to be part of the
laws of the land the following:

SECTION 1. Presidential Decree No. 229 is hereby amended by
inserting therein the following Sections to be known as Section 6-A and Section
6-B to read as follows:

“SEC. 6-A. Authority for any Official or Employee to
Vote in his Place of Assignment. — Any officer or employee of the
Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations, whose office
is located in the Metro-Manila area and who is registered as a barangay member
in the province shall, if he chooses, be authorized to cast his vote in the
barangay referendum center nearest his place of residence: Provided,
That the Barangay Referendum Committee shall allow such officer or employee to
cast his vote upon presentation of a certification of the chief of office or
agency concerned that the voter is an employee of the office or agency and a
barangay member registered in his province: Provided, further, That any
officer or employee on field assignment in the provinces and who is registered
as barangay member in the Metro-Manila area may cast his vote in the place where
he is assigned, subject to the same requirement provided in the
preceding sentence concerning the certification of the chief of office or
agency.

“SEC. 6-B. Authority for any Military Personnel to Vote
in His Place of Assignment. —

Any military personnel who is registered as a barangay member in a place
other than his present assignment shall be allowed to cast his vote in the
barangay referendum center nearest the camp, barracks or detachment where he is
assigned or sent on mission: Provided, That whenever possible and
convenient, taking into account the number of voters affected and the
accessibility of other barangay referendum centers, the election registrar of
any city, municipality or municipal district may authorize the establishment of
a barangay referendum center in any fort, camp, barracks or detachment, in which
case any member of the family of any military personnel assigned therein shall
be authorized to cast his vote in said barangay referendum center.”

SEC. 2. Section 16 of Presidential Decree No. 229 is hereby
amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 16. Postponement of Referendum. — When for
any serious cause such as calamities, floods, or other force majeure, violence,
terrorism, loss or destruction of referendum paraphernalia or records, and other
analogous causes of such a nature that the holding of a referendum becomes
impossible in any barangay center or political division or subdivision, the
Commission on Elections, upon verified petition and after due notice and
hearing, shall postpone the referendum therein to such time as it may deem
necessary, but on a date reasonably close to the date of the referendum not held
or suspended: Provided, however, That the Commission on Elections may
authorize barangay members of barrios or barangays where there is unrest or
where the holding of the referendum cannot be held without endangering the
safety of the voters, to cast their votes in the nearest barangay referendum
center where the conditions of peace and order are under control.”

SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 20th day of July, in the year of Our Lord,
nineteen hundred and seventy three.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President Republic of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES
		Assistant Executive Secretary