At A Glance
- The erstwhile 311-strong House of Representatives is now one lawmaker less, following the removal from the roll of An Waray Party-list's lone nominee in the 19th Congress.
House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The erstwhile 311-strong House of Representatives is now one lawmaker less, following the removal from the roll of An Waray Party-list's lone nominee in the 19th Congress.
Removed from the roll during plenary session Wednesday, Sept. 27 was An Waray Party-list Rep. Florencio "Bem" Noel. Prior to this, Noel was a deputy minority leader.
Following the customary roll call, Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin made a manifestation that the House had received an official communication from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) about its final decision to cancel the registration of An Waray.
“In view thereof, Mr. Speaker, I move that the Secretary General be directed to execute and implement the resolution accordingly and drop the An Waray Party-list representative from the rolls of members of the 19th Congress, so move Mr. Speaker,” Garin said.
House Deputy Speaker TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, the presiding officer at that time, carried Garin's motion after hearing no objection.
The Secretary General in the 19th Congress is Reginald Velasco. He is the highest-ranked civilian official in the House.
With the move, the Comelec upheld an earlier decision canceling An Waray’s registration.
Reports said the ruling stemmed from An Waray’s move to let its second nominee assume a congressional seat in 2013 despite the absence of a certificate of proclamation from the poll body.