The Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared Akbayan a winner in the 2022 elections, enabling its first nominee Percival Cendaña to get a seat in the House of Representatives until June 2025.
The Comelec en banc certified that Akbayan received enough votes to qualify for last place in the 2022 party-list race.
The Comelec’s National Board of Canvassers issued the proclamation dated September 25 after the Supreme Court upheld the cancellation of the registration of An Waray party-list, leaving one House seat vacant.
Akbayan, which was one rank shy of winning a seat in the 2022 party-list race, moved up a notch because of the ruling. As a result, Cendaña will sit as member of the House of Representatives until June 30, 2025 as provided under Section 7, Article 6 of the Philippine Constitution.
In a statement, Akbayan Party president Rafaela David praised the Comelec for its swift decision on the matter.
“We would like to thank Comelec for their swift action in issuing the Certificate of Proclamation to Akbayan acting on Congress’ request to fill in a vacancy in the party-list seats as part of the constitutional mandate to fill in all seats allotted for party-list organizations,” David said.
Akbayan’s return to the House, David said, is a win for progressive, democratic, and reform-oriented forces in the country.
