January 12, 2016
The Supreme Court has ordered the House of Representative to
officially declare Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr's son as the winning
congressman of Marinduque's lone district.
At a media briefing on Tuesday, SC spokesman Theodore Te
said the court en banc granted the petition for mandamus filed by Velasco's son
Lord Allan Jay Velasco.
In its decision, the SC ordered House Speaker Feliciano
Belmonte to administer the oath of Lord Allan as the duly-elected
representative of Marinduque.
"Public respondent Hon. Marilyn Barua-Yap, secretary
general, House of Representatives, shall likewise register the name of
petitioner Velasco in the roll of members of the House of Representatives after
he has taken his oath of office," said the SC.
The court ruled that Lord Allan was entitled to the writ of
mandamus under Rule 65, Sec. 3 because the finality of the court's ruling in GR
No. 207264 and the Comelec resolution in SPA No. 13-053 and SPC No. 13-010
"left no issue as to who is the rightful representative of the lone
district of Marinduque."
In GR No. 207264, the SC magistrates voted 7-4-3 to dismiss
a petition for certiorari filed by Regina Ongsiako-Reyes, contesting her
disqualification by the Commission on Elections.
The high court ruled that the Comelec, through its SPA No.
13-053 and SPC No. 13-010, did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it
disqualified Reyes for being an American citizen.
Reyes was still able to participate in the May 13, 2013
mid-term elections because at the time, her disqualification was not yet final.
The following day, on May 14, the poll body – in a four-page
resolution – junked Reyes' motion for reconsideration, rendering her
disqualification final.
Reyes' camp ended up filing a motion for reconsideration
twice.
In disqualifying Reyes, the Comelec en banc ordered the
Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) of Marinduque to proclaim Lord Allan Jay
Velasco, son of SC Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco, as the winning
representative in the province’s lone district.
The older Velasco has since inhibited himself from the case
pending with the SC.
“The May 18 proclamation of the respondent, Regina Ongsiako
Reyes, is declared null and void and without any legal force and effect,” the
Comelec said.
Voting 5-2, the Comelec en banc said Reyes lacked the
one-year residency required for an elected official. In March, the Comelec
First Division canceled her certificate of candidacy on the grounds that she is
an American citizen.
Reyes had repeatedly denied that she's an American citizen.
She also accused her rival's father, Justice Velasco, of wielding his influence
following a high court ruling favoring Reyes' earlier disqualification by the
Comelec. Reyes ended up still being proclaimed as the winning candidate and
took her oath after that.
As of this posting, Reyes is still listed in the House of
Representative's website as its member representing the lone district of
Marinduque. —ALG, GMA News
