There is no more legal impediment for House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to swear in Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco and include his name in its Roll of Members representing the lone district of Marinduque after the Supreme Court dismissed the House appeal to reconsider its decision to oust Rep. Regina Ongsiako-Reyes.
“The Court today [Tuesday, January 26] denied with finality the motion for reconsideration filed by the Speaker. The decision is now final and executory, as far as that particular petition is concerned,” the SC through its spokesperson Theodore Te said in a press conference.
Voting 8-1-6, the Court upheld its Jan. 12, 2016 decision, which also directed House secretary-general Emilia Barua-Yap to delete the name of Reyes from the roll of House members as it granted the petition for mandamus filed by Velasco.
“In so ruling, the Court found that petitioner Velasco was entitled to the writ of mandamus under Rule 65, sec. 3 because the finality of the Court’s ruling . . . left no issue as to who is the rightful Representative of the Lone District of the Province of Marinduque. For this reason, the administration of the Oath to Velasco by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the registration of his name in the Rolls of the House by the Secretary-General were ministerial duties compellable by mandamus,” the Court’s earlier ruling stated. Velasco, son of Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco, was prompted to file a petition for mandamus seeking to compel the House leadership to recognize him after the SC disqualified Reyes due to her citizenship.
Reyes, who won in the 2013 elections for the lone district of Marinduque and was recognized by the House of Representatives, questioned the high court’s ruling to unseat her, saying that it was the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal which should have ruled over her case.
In filing his mandamus petition, Velasco stressed that he has “clear legal right and basis” to warrant the grant of the writ of mandamus.
Velasco noted that on March 27, 2013, the Comelec First Division issued a resolution cancelling the Certificate of Candidacy of Reyes on the ground that he is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, thus, ineligible under Section 6, Article VI of the Constitution.
On May 14, 2013, the Comelec en banc affirmed the March 27, 2013 resolution of the Comelec First Division, upholding the cancellation of the CoC of Reyes.
On June 25, 2013, the tribunal issued a resolution dismissing the petition of Reyes and upheld the May 14, 2013 resolution of the Comelec en banc.
“Ergo, petitioner has clearly established his constitutional and legal right to the congressional position of Member of the House of Representatives representing the lone district of Marinduque; what only remains to be done is to execute and implement the same,” Velasco said.
The petitioner asserted that it is the ministerial duty of Belmonte to administer his oath and allow him to assume and exercise the prerogatives of the congressional seat for the Marinduque representative.
“In here, the only official in the House who can execute said final and executory decisions is the Speaker by reason of his being the head of the lower chamber of Congress. The implementation of final decisions and orders are solely within the scope of powers and duties of the administrative or executive head of the House,” Velasco said.
According to him, the Comelec’s March 27, 2013 and May 14, 2013 decisions are already final as well as the June 25, 2013 decision of the SC allowing the cancellation of Reyes’ CoC.
In its ruling last June 2013, the Court held that Reyes failed to present any legal and factual basis to support her argument that while she got her US citizenship after marrying an American citizen, she has not yet undergone naturalization.