THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday proclaimed Gabriela Women’s Party as the winner of the 64th party-list seat in the last national and local elections.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said the proclamation of Gabriela completed the constitutional requirement to allocate 20 percent of the total membership of the House of Representatives to party-list representation.
“This is in compliance with the Constitution and Republic Act 7941, or the Party-List System Act, which mandates that party-list representatives should comprise 20 percent of the total House membership,” he said.
Before Gabriela’s proclamation, the House had 254 seats for representatives from the electoral districts, apportioned by population and 63 party-list seats.
Garcia said 63 seats is only a little over 19 percent of the total seats. With 64 party-list seats, it would become 20.1 or 20.2 percent, which complies with the mandatory 20-percent requirement of existing laws.
Gabriela got 256,811 votes or 0.61 percent of the total votes cast for 155 party-list groups that participated in the elections.
Gabriela first won a seat in the 2014 polls, two seats in the 2017, 2010, 2013 and 2016 polls, and a seat each in 2019 and 2022.
At present, there are still three party-list seats that need to be filled after the Comelec canceled the registration of Duterte Youth, which garnered the second-highest vote among 155 party-list groups that participated in the May 12 national and local election.
Duterte Youth garnered 2,338,564 or 5.57 percent of the total votes cast for party-list groups, which entitled it to three seats.
The disqualification case against Duterte Youth was filed in 2019 by youth leader Reeya Magtalas, Abigail Tan, Raainah Punzalan and Aunell Ross Angcos.
