House certifies Teves’ seat vacant, calls for special elections

SONA READY. Final look at the House of Representatives inside the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City on Wednesday (July 19, 2023) before it goes on security lockdown. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will deliver his second State of the Nation Address at the session hall on Monday (July 24). (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

MANILA – The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted House Resolution (HR) No. 1212, which certified “to the existence of a vacancy” in the third congressional district of Negros Oriental, and called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to hold a special election to fill the seat formerly held by expelled Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr.

The resolution authored by Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe and House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan was approved by a simple voice vote.

The authors said the vacancy in Negros Oriental’s third district was created due to the expulsion of Teves “for disorderly behavior and violation of Section 141 (a) and (b), Rule XX of the Code of Conduct of the House of Representatives, by the requisite vote of two-thirds of all its members as provided for in the Constitution.”

They said the vacancy has left the constituency of the province’s third legislative district “without representation in the House of Representatives of the Congress of the Philippines.”

They invoked Section 9, Article VI of the 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.”

The three House leaders cited the applicable law, which is Republic Act (RA) No. 6645, entitled, “An Act prescribing the manner of filling a vacancy in the Congress of the Philippines.”

The law provides: “In case a vacancy arises in the Senate at least 18 months or in the House of Representatives at least one year before the next regular election for members of Congress, the Commission on Elections, upon receipt of a resolution of the Senate of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, certifying to the existence of such vacancy and calling for a special election, shall hold a special election to fill such vacancy…”.

Another applicable law, RA No. 7166 on synchronized elections, states that the special election shall be held “not earlier than six days nor longer than 90 days after the occurrence of the vacancy.”

The House further resolved to send a copy of HR No. 1212 to the Comelec.

Earlier, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the poll body was ready to conduct a special election if requested by the House.

“If we will be directed…we will comply with haste,” he said.