Commission on Elections. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has adopted the ordinance on increasing the number of seats for each councilor district to 12 and including the 10 Embo (Enlisted men’s barrios) barangays in the first and second legislative and councilor districts of Taguig City.
The resolution promulgated on Wednesday and released to the media on Thursday states that the Comelec en banc “RESOLVES and ADOPT the herein recommendations of the Election Records and Statistics Department (ERSD) and the Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations (ODEDO) to favorably consider Ordinance No. 144 of the Government City of Taguig.”
ERSD underscored the increase in the population of Taguig City after the inclusion of Embo barangays, adding that the increase in the number of seats of the Sangguniang Panlungsod “is indeed a necessity, as more voters must be represented and served by the city government.”
Meanwhile, ODEDO said that if Taguig City has the power to create, divide, merge, or abolish barangays within its jurisdiction, then such power “necessarily includes the authority to allocate existing barangays to the legislative district where they shall belong for electoral purposes.”
READ: Comelec: Embo barangay residents can vote in 2025 polls
The Comelec adopts the ordinance that seeks to include the ten Embo barangays in the first and second legislative and councilor districts as follows:
First Legislative and Councilor District:
- Comembo;
- Pembo; and
- Rizal
Second Legislative and Councilor District:
- Cembo;
- South Cembo;
- East Rembo;
- West Rembo;
- Pitogo;
- Post Proper Northside; and
- Post Proper Southside
Comelec Chairman George Garcia previously said that Embo barangay residents can vote in the 2025 elections except for the congressman position. However, when asked on Thursday if the residents can now vote for the congressional representatives, Garcia said in a message to the media that another resolution must be passed based on the concurrent resolution.
The poll body chief said that the commission is discussing if the Embo residents can vote for congressman positions. Further, Garcia said that once they adopt the resolution, residents of Embo barangays can now vote and run for the congressional positions.
“Kung sakaling ‘yan po ay papayagan namin ng Comelec, ibig sabihin, makakaboto ‘yong sampung barangay sa bawat distrito. Mayroon na silang bobotohang distrito and at the same time pwede nang may tumakbo dun mismo sa distrito na yan para tumakbong congressman sa naturang distrito,” Garcia said in the sidelines of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines’ media forum with Comelec.
(If that will be allowed by the Comelec, it means that the ten barangays can vote in each district. They can have districts to vote from and at the same time, they can run for congressman in that district.)
READ: Cayetano, Zubiri trade barbs over reso on Embo barangays
The House of Representatives adopted on Wednesday the House Concurrent Resolution No. 37 that seeks to include the ten Embo barangays in the two legislative districts of Taguig and Pateros and increase the numbers of councilors in each area.
Prior to the Senate’s adoption on Tuesday of the similar concurrent resolution, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and former Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri had a heated exchange concerning its adoption.