termines who have been elected to the office of Senator or Member of the House of Representatives and to provincial offices. Copies of these statements are filed with the provincial treasurer, and with the chief of the Executive Bureau, and one copy is given to each elected candidate.

240. Confirmation by the Governor-General. — Upon the filing of a certificate of election in the office of the chief of the Executive Bureau, it is transmitted by him to the Governor-General, who has the power to confirm the

election.

Any candidate who has received votes at a provincial election may file with the Governor-General, within thirty days after such election, a protest against the confirmation of the election of a provincial officer elect, on account of disloyalty to the constituted Government. The Governor-General may then refuse to confirm the election of any provincial officer elect, pending the determination of the protest filed with him, which shall be investigated with the least possible delay by a judge of the Court of First Instance, by the Attorney-General, or by any of his assistant attorneys whom the Governor-General may designate to make such investigation. Upon the completion of the investigation, the Governor-General may either confirm or definitely refuse to confirm the election of the candidate elect, as the facts brought out by such investigation may warrant, and the decision of the Governor-General in such cases is final.

241. Election Contests. All election contests, with the exception of those of the Senate and House of Representatives, are heard by the Court of First Instance in the judicial district in which the election was held, upon motion by any candidate voted for such election. The contests are filed with the court within two weeks after the election. The court may order all ballots brought before it, may require

a revision of the lists, and may then issue an order directing the board of canvassers to correct its canvass in accordance with the facts as found. If the court finds no person lawfully elected, it certifies its finding, in case of a provincial office, to the chief of the Executive Bureau, and in case of a municipal office to both the chief of the Executive Bureau and the provincial board. An appeal may be taken to the Supreme Court from any decision by the Court of First Instance on contests of elections for provincial governors.

The Senate and House of Representatives each has the exclusive right to decide contested elections involving its own members.

242. Importance of Clean Elections. The ballot is the greatest institution for the development of democracy. It is the direct mouthpiece of the people for the expression of the people's will, hence those who tamper with the ballot tamper with the people's will. Those who practice frauds in elections, those who stuff ballot boxes, bribe inspectors, and besmirch legal ballots are enemies of the people, for they rob the people of their due share in the government of their country.

It is most important that a country should have clean elections so that the people may freely express their will through the ballot. In many states of the Union and here in the Philippines, special laws have been passed to punish election criminals. These laws are called Corrupt Practices Acts, for they punish corrupt practices at election times. They deal severely with election frauds like impersonation, or voting in place of somebody else; repeating, or voting more than once; stuffing of ballot boxes; making false counts; and the marking of ballots.

But mere election law reforms do not cure election evils. Our public opinion must be educated to the point of brand

ing the criminal who tampers with the ballot as the sworn foe of democracy and a traitor to his people. We must have besides to quote the platform of the National Civic League "intelligent voting, popular education on public questions, public discussion, and publicity of governmental affairs.” Voters must vote intelligently, weighing the personality of each candidate and the program of each party. In order to have intelligent voting, we must have popular education not only in the schools, but popular education on public questions. Information on the current issues of the day should be within the reach of all, so that there may result public discussion, and through public discussion, the birth of an enlightened public opinion.

CHAPTER XXI

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

243. The Provinces. The political subdivisions of the Philippines are the provinces, the municipalities, and the municipal districts. Provinces may be divided into regular provinces and specially organized provinces. The regular provinces are Abra, Albay, Antique, Bataan, Batangas, Bohol, Bulacan, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Cavite, Cebú, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Isabela, Laguna, La Unión, Leyte, Marinduque, Masbate, Mindoro, Misamis, Nueva Ecija, Occidental Negros, Oriental Negros, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Rizal, Romblon, Samar, Sorsogon, Surigao, Tarlac, Tayabas, and Zambales. 37

Provinces are public corporations authorized as such to acquire and convey property, to make contracts for labor and material needed in the construction of public works, to have continuous succession in their corporate provincial names, and to sue and be sued.

244. Provincial Officers. The elective officials of a province are the provincial governor and two members of the provincial board. Appointive officers having provincial duties are the provincial treasurer, the provincial fiscal the division superintendent of schools, the district engineer, the district auditor, the district health officer, and the senior inspector of constabulary.

The provincial governor and the members of the provincial board must be qualified electors of the province, actual residents therein for one year prior to election, loyal to the

United States, and not less than twenty-five years of age. In case of vacancy in any of the elective provincial offices, by reason of death, resignation, or removal, the GovernorGeneral appoints a suitable person to the place for the unexpired term.

The Governor-General, through the Department of the Interior, exercises supervision over the provincial officials

and can suspend or remove any of them for disloyalty, dishonesty, oppression, or misconduct in office.

245. The Provincial Governor. - The provincial governor is the chief executive officer of the province. He is elected for a term of three years. In case of vacancy in the office, the Governor-General appoints someone to act as provincial governor for the unexpired term.

The provincial governor exercises general supervision over the provincial government, and the government of municipalities and other political subvisions contained in the province. It is his duty to make known to the people of the province, by proclamations or communications delivered to