AT LEAST 34 electoral protests await the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Wednesday.
The cases include the protests filed against Regina Ongsiako Reyes of Marinduque and Angelina Tan of Quezon. The proclamation of the two lawmakers has been annulled by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
"They remain in the official roster of the House pending the resolution of the protests against them in the HRET," Belmonte said. HRET has the sole jurisdiction to handle election protests against its members.
Reyes' proclamation was annulled on the ground that she is an American citizen and lacks the one-year residency requirement while Tan allegedly lost to Wigberto Tañada after some 7,000 votes were credited to Tañada when another candidate was disqualified from the race.
Reyes' proclamation is challenged by former Representative Lord Allan Velasco, son of Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. Velasco had already taken his oath of office.
On Tuesday, Reyes withdrew her petition asking the SC to reverse its decision upholding the ruling of Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify her.
She said the HRET is now the proper forum for all questions on her qualifications as a legislator.
"Petitioner was among the Members of the House of Representatives...who attended the opening session, was officially and formally recognized as the duly elected representative of the said congressional district and voted for the Speakership of the House of Representatives of Congressman Feliciano ‘Sonny’ Belmonte, Jr.,” Reyes said in a two-page manifestation.
Belmonte said members of the HRET are yet to be elected two days after the inaugural session of the 16th Congress.
"The members of the HRET are yet to be completed because various groups have to be there. We already have some people and we will announce them as soon as the roster is complete," Belmonte added.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the HRET shall be composed of six congressmen and three members of the SC.
"We do hope that these cases will be judiciously acted upon by the HRET," Belmonte said. (Kathrina Alvarez/Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)