[ PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 249, July 20, 1973 ]

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 OTHER RELATED MATTERS.

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