Romeo Jalosjos Jr., the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE), has opposed the proclamation of his rival for congressman of the first district of Zamboanga del Norte and raised the issue of the legitimacy of the 19th Congress before the Supreme Court. 

TAPE president and CEO Romeo Jalosjos Jr.

Last Oct. 6, Jalosjos filed before the Supreme Court a comment and opposition to the motion filed by election rival Roberto Uy Jr. for the Comelec to proclaim him as the winner of the May 2022 election for the position of congressman of the first district of Zamboanga del Norte. 

In a decision on Aug. 8, the SC ordered the Comelec to proclaim Uy after it annulled the proclamation of Jalosjos. 

Jalosjos is challenging the SC decision. 

In his comment and opposition with motion to set the case of oral arguments he filed before the SC, Jalosjos said proclaiming Uy “will ultimately result in an absurd situation considering that the instant case is still pending before this Honorable Supreme Court.”

“Furthermore, this will gravely affect Private Respondent's Jalosjos’ recourse to file a Motion for Reconsideration as his prayer for reversal [of the SC decision] will have no value anymore and thus, considered nonsensical,” according to the Comment/Opposition. 

Jalosjos maintained that he was already proclaimed by Comelec as the winner of the May 2022 election, and took his oath of office as Zamboanga City’s first district representative. 

With this, he said, the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over the case and it belongs to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), which is the “sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns and qualifications of their respective members.” 

In the decision, according to the SC Public Information Office, “the Court also ruled that the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) has no jurisdiction over the case, since it acquires jurisdiction only when all of the following requisites are met: (1) a valid proclamation; (2) a proper oath; and (3) assumption of office. In the case of R. Jalosjos, he did not take an oath of office before the Speaker of the House in open session, which bars him from performing his functions. Neither has R. Jalosjos assumed office. Thus, the requisites that vest HRET jurisdiction are not present.”

Jalosjos refuted this in his Comment, adding that he had fulfilled the three important requisites for the HRET to take over his case.

"To require an oath before the Speaker of the House in open session for a proclaimed candidate to  become a member of the House will lead to absurdity. Under the Constitution, the Speaker of the House must be elected by majority votes of its members. If there are no members prior to oath before the Speaker, who will elect the Speaker? How can a member be nominated as speaker if he himself is not yet a member of the House?” according to Jalosjos’ Comment/Opposition.

Jalosjos said the SC decision has set a constitutional issue on the terms and legitimacy of the 19th Congress and its members. 

“Based on the above provision, since the members of the House of Representatives must first convene and elect the Speaker on the 4th Monday of July, the members of the House should have already taken an oath of office on or at noon of the 30th day of June since the term of their respective offices commences on the 30th of June and not on 4th of July,” according to the Comment/Opposition. 

It added, “Thus, from noon of June 30 until the 4 th Monday of July, the Members of the house have already assumed their respective offices in order to validly cast their votes for the election of the Speaker. Additionally, the oath before the Speaker of the House is a mere formality since the Rules of the House of Representatives admit that the oath of office administered by the Speaker in open session to all Members is only a ceremonial affirmation of prior and valid oaths of office administered to them by duly authorized public officers.”

According to Jalosjos, the SC ruling has implications. 

“Incidentally, it may also be argued that even the Speaker of the House, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, took his oath on June 15, 2022 before incumbent Punong Barangay Rodolfo Padillo in Romualdez Medical Foundation Gym,” the Comment/Opposition stated. 

It added, “If the ruling will be applied in the case of Speaker Romualdez, his oath taken before Punong Barangay Padillo is invalid which should bar him from performing his functions. Moreover, following the ruling, it should not be possible for Speaker Romualdez to be elected as Speaker since there are no members who will elect him as such.” 

“All told, it is respectfully submitted that the oath taken by the members of the House of Representatives before the Speaker in open session should not be considered as a requirement before they may assume their respective offices,” it said.

In the motion, Jalosjos asked the Supreme Court “that this instant comment and opposition be considered and the motion of immediate proclamation of Petitioner Roberto ‘Pinpin’ T. Uy Jr. as winner in the 2022 Election as for the Position of Zamboanga Del Norte's First District Representative be denied. Further, it is most respectfully prayed that the Motion to Set this Case for Oral Arguments be granted.”