Rep. Eugene Michael De Vera. INQUIRER PHOTO/PATH ROXAS
House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. on Tuesday defended their move to expel Arts, Business, and Science Professionals (ABS) Rep. Michael Eugene De Vera by saying the latter “abandoned” his party-list when he decided to vie for a congressional post in Marikina.
“Now, you have here a unique situation in which Cong. De Vera filed for a certificate of candidacy sa Marikina for congressman,” Andaya said in a press briefing, referring to De Vera’s filing of a certificate of candidacy to run as the representative of Marikina’s 2nd District.
“In effect, once you have done that, you have abandoned your being a member sa party-list na iyon because you will run under a different political party,” he added.
During the House’s Monday session, the leadership expelled De Vera who is claiming the Minority Leadership post from Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez.
READ: House leaders expel ABS party-list’s De Vera from the roll
READ: Suarez: I’m minority leader; Fariñas plans SC challenge
De Vera’s allies including LPGMA Rep. Arnel Ty and Ilocos Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas continued to question his expulsion during their Tuesday session.
De Vera and Fariñas also argued that the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) has the sole jurisdiction to determine if a sitting congressman is qualified or not, as mandated under Article VI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution.
Fariñas also said Article VI, Section 16 (3) of the Charter empowers the House of Representatives to expel a sitting member only under one instance which is for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the House members.
READ: House move to unseat ABS rep illegal — De Vera, Fariñas
But all these legalities have lost their value when De Vera decided to run for a different post, according to Andaya.
“Yung mga legalities na iyan, hindi na po natin kailangan daanan yan. Doon lang sa practical na aspeto na iyon iniwan na niya iyong kanyang party-list,” he claimed.
“Ang party-list ang nakaupo dito sa Kongreso at yung pino-proclaim ng Comelec (Commission on Elections), ‘yung party-list hindi yung nominee,” he also argued.
READ: ABS party-list counsel insists De Vera ouster ‘valid’