as it may deem necessary and shall fix their compensation at not less than five pesos nor more than fifteen pesos for each of them for each election precinct which they may completely revise and report upon.

SEC. 170. Procedure.-(a) Notice of the contest against the election of a candidate shall be served upon him by means of a summons at the post-office address stated in his certificate of candidacy, except when the contestee, without waiting for the summons, has made the court understand that he has been notified of the contest, or has filed his answer thereto.

(b) The contestee shall answer the contest within five days after being summoned, or in case there has been no summons, from the date of his appearance, and in all cases, before the commencement of the hearing of the contest. The answer shall deal only with the election in the precincts which are covered by the allegations of the contest.

(c) Should the contestee desire to impugn the votes received by the contestant in other precincts, he shall file a counter contest within the same period fixed for the answer, serving a copy thereof upon the contestant by registered mail or by personal delivery or through the sheriff.

(d) The contestant shall answer the counter contest within three days after notice.

(e) If no answer shall be filed to the contest or to the counter contest within the time limits respectively fixed, a general denial shall be deemed to have been entered.

(f) In election contest proceedings, the registry list as finally corrected by the board of inspectors, shall be conclusive in regard to the question as to who had the right to vote in said election.

(g) The other defeated candidates voted for may, within the time limit prescribed for the filing of the contest, intervene in the case as other contestants and ask for affirmative relief in their favor, by a petition in intervention, which shall be considered as another contest, except that it shall be substantiated within the same proceedings. Their intervention in any other manner shall not be allowed.

SEC. 171. Decision of the contest.-The court shall decide the contest within six months after it is presented in case cf a municipal office, and within one year in case of a provincial office, and shall declare which among the parties has been elected, or in the proper case that none of them has been legally elected. The party who in the judgment has been declared elected shall have the right to assume office as soon as the judgment becomes final.

SEC. 172. Appeal from the decision in election contests.-From any final decision rendered by the Court of First Instance in contests against the eligibility or the election of provincial governors, members of the provincial board, city councilors, and mayors, the aggrieved party may appeal to the Court of Appeals or to the Supreme Court, as the case may be, within the period of five days after being notified of the decision, for its revision, correction, annulment, or confirmation, and the appeal shall be conducted as if it were in a criminal case. Such appeal shall be decided within three months after the filing of the case in the office of the clerk of the court to which the appeal has been taken.

SEC. 173. Preferential disposition of contests.-The court of first instance and the appellate courts, in the respective cases, shall give preference to election contests over all other cases except those of habeas corpus and shall hear and decide them without delay, within the time limits fixed by law, whether they are holding regular sessions or not.

SEC. 174. Bond or cash deposit.-Before the court shall take cognizance of a contest or a countercontest or admit an appeal, the party who has filed the pleading or interposed the appeal shall file a bond with two sureties satisfactory to the court and for such amount as it may fix to answer for the payment of all expenses and costs incidental to said motion or appeal, or shall deposit with the court cash in lieu of the bond, or both as the court may order. The court in which the contest is pending shall for good reasons order from time to time that the amount of the bond or cash deposit be increased or decreased, or order the disposition of such deposit as the course of the contest

may require. In case the party who has paid the expenses and costs wins, the court shall assess, levy and collect the same as costs from the losing party.

SEC. 175. Notice to the Secretary of the Interior.-The clerk of the court wherein an election contest has been instituted and that of the court to which an appeal in said proceedings has been taken shall give to the Secretary of the Interior immediate notice thereof as well as of its final disposition. If the decision be that none of the parties has been legally elected, he shall certify such decision to the Secretary of the Interior in the case of a provincial office, and in the case of municipal office to the Secretary of the Interior and to the provincial board..

SEC. 176. Contests before the Electoral Commission.-In contests under its jurisdiction, the Electoral Commission shall have and exercise the same powers which the law confers upon the courts including that of summarily punishing contempts, ordering the taking of depositions, the arrest of witnesses for the purpose of compelling their appearance and the production of documents and other evidence, the compulsory payment of costs and expenses which it may have assessed against the parties and their bondsmen, of giving notices of its decisions, resolutions, and crders, and enforcing them through the officials charged with the enforcement of judicial orders, and of making the necessary rules for the effective performance of its constitutional functions. All the expenses of the Electoral Commission and of its members shall be paid from the funds of the National Assembly and its telegrams and correspondence shall be transmitted free of charge.

ARTICLE XIII.-Penal Provisions

SEC. 177. Election offenses and their classification.-Malicious violation of any of the provisions of sections eleven, twelve, twenty-four, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, forty, forty-one, forty-two, fortythree, forty-four, forty-five, forty-nine, fifty, sixty-four, seventy-four, seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety

four, ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred, one hundred and two, one hundred and three, one hundred and four, one hundred and twenty-five, one hundred and twenty-six, one hundred and twenty-seven, one hundred and twenty-eight, one hundred and twenty-nine, one hundred and thirty, one hundred and thirty-one, one hundred and thirty-two, one hundred and thirty-three, one hundred and thirty-four, one hundred and thirty-seven, one hundred and thirty-eight, one hundred and thirty-nine, one hundred and forty, one hundred and forty-one, one hundred and forty-two, one hundred and forty-three, one hundred and forty-four, one hundred and forty-five, one hundred and forty-six, one hundred and forty-seven, one hundred and forty-eight, one hundred and forty-nine, one hundred and fifty, one hundred and fifty-one, one hundred and fifty-two, one hundred and fifty-five, one hundred and fifty-six, one hundred and fifty-nine, one hundred and sixty, one hundred and sixty-two, one hundred and sixty-three, and one hundred and sixty-four shall be a serious election offense; and that of any of the provisions of sections seventeen, eighteen, thirty-one, forty-six, fortyseven, forty-eight, fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty, sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-five, sixty-six, sixtyeight, sixty-nine, seventy, seventy-one, seventy-two, seventythree, eighty, eighty-two, eighty-six, ninety-one, one hundred and six, one hundred and seven, one hundred and eight, one hundred and nine, one hundred and twelve, one hundred and eighteen, one hundred and nineteen, one hundred and twenty-one, one hundred and twenty-two, one hundred and thirty-six, and one hundred and seventy-five shall be less serious.

SEC. 178. Persons criminally responsible.-The principals, accomplices, and accessories shall be criminally responsible for election offenses and for any attempt to commit the same. If the one responsible be an entity, its president or chief, the officials and employees of the same performing duties connected with the offense committed, and its members who may be principals, accomplices, or acces

sories, shall be responsible, in addition to the responsibility of such entity.

SEC. 179. Penalties.-Any one found guilty of a serious election offense shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than one year and one day nor more than five years, and any one guilty of a less serious election offense, with imprisonment of not less than one month nor more than one year. In both cases the guilty party shall be further sentenced to suffer disqualification to hold a public office and deprivation of the right of suffrage for not less than one year nor more than nine years, and to pay the costs, and if he were a foreigner, he shall be at the same time sentenced to deportation for not less than three years nor more than nine years, which shall be enforced after the prison term has been served. If the guilty party be an entity, the penalty shall be a fine of not less than one thousand and five hundred pesos nor more than one hundred thousand pesos, which shall be imposed upon such entity after a criminal action has been instituted against the same in which its legal representative shall be summoned by means of notice or by publication.

SEC. 180. Common crimes.-Acts and omissions relative to elections not punishable under this Code which constitute common crimes shall be punished as provided in the penal laws applicable thereto.

SEC. 181. Jurisdiction of Courts of First Instance.-The Courts of First Instance shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to make preliminary investigations, issue warrants of arrest and try and decide any criminal action or proceeding for violation of this Code. From their decisions an appeal shall lie as in other criminal cases.

SEC. 182. Prescription.-Election offenses shall prescribe after two years from the date of their commission, but if the discovery of such offenses be made in election contest proceedings, the period of prescription shall commence on the date on which the judgment in such proceedings becomes final.