It's the mandatory duty of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to hold a special election to fill up the vacancy left by the late Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop in the House of Representatives.

National Unity Party (NUP) Secretary General Reginald Velasco had this to say Sunday, Dec. 28, eight days after Acop passed away due to a heart attack. Acop was an NUP stalwart.

According to Velasco, there are "constitutional and statutory bases for the conduct of a special election to fill the unexpired term".

"The vacancy date is understood to be 20 December 2025, based on press reports and official announcements," he said.

Acop, 78, was elected to a fresh, three-year term in the House during the mid-term polls last May. His term in the current 20th Congress began on June 30, 2025.

"The constitutional basis for a special election is found in Article VI, Section 9 of the 1987 Constitution, which provides: 'In case of vacancy in the Senate or in the House of Representatives, a special election may be called to fill such vacancy in the manner prescribed by law, but the Senator or Member of the House of Representatives thus elected shall serve only for the unexpired term,'" Velasco said.

He said this establishes the constitutional authority for special elections to fill congressional vacancies and limits the term of the elected replacement to the remaining portion of the unexpired term.

"The operative statutory rule governing House vacancies is found in Section 4 of Republic Act No. 7166, which provides: 'In case a permanent vacancy shall occur in the Senate or House of Representatives at least one (1) year before the expiration of the term, the Commission on Elections shall call and hold a special election to fill the vacancy not earlier than sixty (60) days nor longer than ninety (90) days after the occurrence of the vacancy,'" noted the NUP official.

"Under this provision, where the vacancy occurs at least one (1) year before the end of the term, the special election is not discretionary. Comelec is required to call and hold the election within the statutory period," stressed Velasco.

"Applying the statutory timetable to the vacancy date of 20 December 2025, the earliest permissible date for the special election on the 60th day is 18 February 2026 (Wednesday), while the latest permissible date on the 90th day is 20 March 2026 (Friday). (Republic Act No. 7166, Sec. 4)," he said.

Velasco said these dates fall within the required window prescribed by law, assuming the vacancy occurred on Dec. 20, 2025.

"This statutory schedule applies because the vacancy arises more than one (1) year before the expiration of the term, thereby triggering the mandatory duty of Comelec under Section 4 of RA 7166," he explained.

Velasco said rhe Supreme Court (SC) recently clarified that, where the vacancy arises at least one year before the expiration of the term, Comelec’s duty to call and hold the special election within the statutory period is mandatory and no longer conditioned on any certification, call, or action from the House of Representatives.