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MANILA, Philippines – A total of 186 congressmen, or the majority of 299 members of the House of Representatives, elected Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco as the new president in a session that Representative Alan Peter Cayetano’s allies described as “illegal.”
The election occurred in a session held Monday at the Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City despite questions from the Cayetano camp about the legality of the process.
It was Buhay’s party representative, Lito Atienza, who has been a vocal in the middle of the line of speakers, who moved to declare the spokesperson position vacant, the first step in essentially removing Cayetano.
After his motion was seconded, a roll call vote on the motion resulted in 186 legislators voting affirmatively, vacating the Spokesperson seat.
This was immediately followed by a series of legislators who nominated Velasco for the position. This includes representatives Doy Leachon, Jack Duavit, Kristine Singson-Meehan, and Kiko Benitez, among others.
However, it is not yet clear whether the decision to choose Velasco was legal.
Earlier in the day, Vice President Neptali Gonzales II said the meeting of Velasco supporters is an “illegal and useless session” where House rules will not apply.
Gonzales argued that the House session is suspended until November 16 and that there is no authority from the plenary for the lower house to meet again on Monday, October 12.
“Unlike the Batangas Session, there is no plenary resolution authorizing sessions to be held anywhere other than the Plenary in Batasan, contrary to the Constitution,” Gonzales said, referring to the lower house session in Batangas later of the eruption of the Taal.
“All the clubs, old and official, are currently in the possession and custody of the [Sergeant-at-Arms]. This shows that what they are doing is clearly a disorderly and illegal session where the House Rules will not apply and cannot be used, ”added the House leader.
What happened during the session?
At the beginning of the session, the 2nd district deputy of Cagayán de Oro, Rufus Rodríguez, citing the Constitution and the regulations of the lower house, indicated that a majority of the members of the House, constituting a quorum, can resume the session.
Rodríguez also said that most of the members present can also hold sessions outside of the regularly designated session rooms in accordance with the Constitution.
In the same session, Atty. Hani Sipin was elected the new general secretary, while Mao Aplasca was elected a sergeant at arms.
This is a developing story. Please refresh this page for updates.
JE
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