Senators, partylists proclaimed today
DILG ready to train 17,754 newly elected local officials
With the canvassing of votes for both senators and party-list groups nearly complete, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the proclamation of the winning candidates today, May 21, is now almost certain.
“Again with 1,050,681 votes from Isabela expected tonight, I think at this
point it is a pretty sure bet that we will have a proclamation tomorrow (May 21),” Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said in a press briefing Monday.
“All indications point to proclamation tomorrow and in fact we are preparing as if it were tomorrow just to be on the safe side,” he added.
In the event that the proclamation pushes through, Jimenez said this means the Comelec was able to complete the canvassing
in seven days compared to the 10 days in 2016.
“This is an important point... considering all of the trouble that attended this elections, the fact that we're having it this early is also a good thing,” Jimenez said.
Responding to criticisms that there's an unseemly rush to proclaim, Jimenez said it’s not the Comelec that is hurrying the proclamation.
“In fact, some people are complaining that we're taking too much time. There is a call for early proclamation, we have resisted that so far... clearly we have stayed the course with our goal of proclaiming just one batch of senators and party-lists (groups). This is the most equitable arrangement so nobody is left behind,” said Jimenez.
He said the plan is to hold the proclamation of the winning party-list groups in the morning first and then proclaim the winning senators in the evening.
“So it is one day proclamation, except that there will be a long intermission in between. The intermission is really for the purpose of preparing the venue. The requirements in the venue for party-list (groups) are different from senators,” said Jimenez.
He said they might actually start setting up later today at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Asked if President Duterte is attending the proclamation, Jimenez said they are not sure but they are preparing for it.
“We don't know for sure. But because he did come for the filing of the certificate of candidacy that is something we are preparing for as well. So we are preparing, which means we are not just preparing for his arrival security-wise but we are also preparing a space for him and his entourage on the floor for him tomorrow,” said Jimenez.
During the filing of the COC last October, President Duterte accompanied his former aide Bong Go in filing his COC at Comelec in Intramuros, Manila.
Administration bets are currently dominating the partial and official count of the Comelec which includes Go.
61 seats for partylist
As this developed, the number of seats for party-list groups in the House of Representatives increased to 61, from 59 in the 2016 elections, due to the creation of a new congressional district last March.
“Sixty-one seats are available in Congress for party-list organizations,” Jimenez said.
Republic Act (RA) 7941 (the PartyList System Act) provides that “partylist representatives shall constitute twenty per centum (20 percent) of the total number of members of the House of Representatives, including those under the party-list.”
The new congressional district was created after President Duterte signed into law last March 11, the measure separating General Santos City from the First Legislative District of South Cotabato.
Because of this, the Comelec issued Resolution 10535 last May 7 to include the new legislative in the elections.
Meanwhile, Jimenez said the Comelec will continue to follow the allocation system for the party-list seats set by the Supreme Court (SC) in its 2009 ruling over the case of Barangay Association for National Advancement and Transparency (BANAT) vs Comelec.
Under the system, Jimenez said party-list organizations will undergo two rounds of allocations. He said that those who received two percent of the total votes will get guaranteed seats from the 61 available seats.
Since RA 7941 states that partylist “shall be entitled to not more than three seats,” Jimenez said the SC put in place a mathematical formula on how those with guaranteed seats may receive two or more seats.
“So the guaranteed seat will get additional seats,” he said.
“Then the rest of the seats will then be apportioned to the remaining party-list organizations in descending order,” Jimenez explained.
DILG ready to train new officials
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) expressed readiness to train 17,754 newly elected and re-elected local government officials on how to become effective local government leaders “who will steer their respective localities to greater heights of peace and development.”
DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the department through its training arm, the Local Government Academy (LGA), will soon roll-out the Newly Elected Officials (NEO) Program for both neophytes and even the veterans who have been a given a fresh mandate by the people to serve for the next three years.
“Whether you are a newbie or veteran in the local government arena, the DILG under the leadership of Secretary Eduardo Año is prepared to equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills in governance to enable you to deal with the critical challenges of your office,” said Malaya.
“We have some very young firstterm city mayors like 29-year-old mayor-elect Vico Sotto of Pasig City and 22-year-old mayor-elect Arth Bryan Celeste of Alaminos City, among others. I know they have lots of plans for their constituents. The DILG is here to train and guide them so that they can better serve the people,” he added. (With a report from Jeffrey G. Damicog)