THE National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) for the presidential and vice presidential elections, which is composed of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines, convened Tuesday morning, May 24, 2022, for the start of the canvassing of votes.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco led the opening of the joint session held at the Batasang Pambansa plenary hall.
Sotto and Velasco both declared a quorum with 20 senators and 296 congressmen present in the session.
The Senate contingent includes Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senator Nancy Binay, Senator Imee Marcos, Senator Grace Poe and Senator Pia Cayetano.
Named as alternatives are Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, Risa Hontiveros, Aquilino Pimentel III and Lito Lapid.
For the House, it includes Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Cavite Representative Crispin Remulla, Cavite Representative Abraham Tolentino, Pampanga Representative Juan Bondoc, Negros Occidental Representative Juliet Ferrer, Ilocos Sur Representative Kristine Singson-Meehan, and Aambis-OWA Party-list Representative Sharon Garin.
Their alternatives were Pampanga Representative Rimpy Bondoc, Ako Bicol Representative Alfredo Garbin, Surigao del Sur Representative Johnny Pimentel and Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo.
The alternate members will attend the canvassing in the absence of the regular members.
A total of 173 certificates of canvass, which were transmitted either physically or electronically, were turned over to the joint committee.
House of Representatives Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza earlier said the committee aims to finish the canvassing within 24 hours but assured the strict adherence to the canvassing rules.
This will pave the way for the proclamation of the newly elected president and vice president, which may happen by Wednesday, May 25, according to Zubiri.
Zubiri said presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, were asked to make themselves available on Wednesday.
In the partial and unofficial vote count of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Marcos gained over 31 million votes, over 15 million votes ahead of his toughest contender, Vice President Leni Robredo.
Duterte-Carpio is also leading based on the unofficial result with nearly 32 million votes. (SunStar Philippines)