President Duterte, VP Robredo invited to attend proclamation of winning senators

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MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo are both invited to attend the proclamation of the 12 winning senators on Wednesday.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner George Garcia made the announcement Tuesday, adding that Senate President Vicente Sotto III, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, and Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo were also invited to attend the event.

“Officially, we invited the president, vice president, the Speaker of the House, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to attend tomorrow’s event, and of course the Senate President kung saka-sakaling available sila tomorrow [in case they are available tomorrow],” Garcia said in a press briefing.

Garcia said that as of Tuesday afternoon, no one among the high-ranking invited officials has responded to the invitation.

“As of this time wala pa [As of now, no one has confirmed yet]… Maybe they can squeeze the activity to their schedules tomorrow,” Garcia said.

Meanwhile, Garcia said the invitation for the winning senators will be sent on Tuesday afternoon. The offices of the winning senators, however, have been advised to clear their schedule.

The Comelec, which sits as the National Board of Canvassers, said it will proclaim winning senatorial candidates on Wednesday afternoon, May 18, at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Each winning senator can be accompanied by up to five individuals.

READ: Comelec to proclaim Magic 12 Wednesday
Based on the latest partial and official count of the Comelec released Tuesday morning, the twelve winning senators are Robin Padilla, Loren Legarda, Raffy Tulfo, Sherwin Gatchalian, Francis Escudero, and Mark Villar.

Also in the Magic 12 are Alan Peter Cayetano, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, Risa Hontiveros, and Jinggoy Estrada.

JPV