Section 17. Notice and Hearing of Applications. —

Upon receipt of applications for registration, the Election Officer shall set them for hearing, notice of which shall be posted in the city or municipal bulletin board and in his office for at least one (1) week before the hearing, and furnish copies thereof to the applicant concerned, the heads or representatives of political parties, and other accredited groups or organizations which actively participate in the electoral process in the city or municipality. On the date of the hearing, the Election Officer shall receive such evidence for or against the applicant.

A registrant whose application is not seasonably objected to shall be notified in writing stating therein that no objection was raised against his application and that he need not appear on the date set for the hearing of his application. Physical presence of the applicant concerned shall, however, be mandatory in all cases where objections against his application have been seasonably filed with the proper Election Registration Board for him to rebut or refute evidence presented in opposition thereto.

All applications for registration shall be heard and processed on a quarterly basis. For this purpose, the Election Registration Board shall meet and convene on the third Monday of April, July, October, and January of every calendar year, or on the next following working day if the designated days fall on anon-working holiday, except in an election year to conform with the one hundred twenty (120) days prohibitive period before election day. Should one day be insufficient for the processing of all accepted applications, the Board shall adjourn from day to day until all the applications shall have been processed.