Akbayan nominee may sit in House

MANILA, Philippines–The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has proclaimed Akbayan’s third nominee, Angelina Ludovice Katoh, to the party-list’s first seat in the House of Representatives in place of Walden Bello who resigned.

“The commission resolves to certify that the succeeding nominee to take the place of the honorable Walden Bello as Akbayan representative is nominee No. 3, Angelina Ludovice Katoh. This certification may be treated as equivalent to a certificate of proclamation for purposes of the assumption of office of Katoh,” the Comelec en banc said in Minute Resolution No. 15-0314 dated April 30.

Bello resigned as Akbayan’s first representative in March after withdrawing support from President Aquino because the latter refused to take responsibility for the Mamasapano massacre.

Akbayan is allied with the administration. Katoh was named third nominee of the party-list in the certificate of nomination submitted to the May 2013 elections where Akbayan won two House seats.

First on the list was Bello, followed by Akbayan Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez as second nominee. Gutierrez currently seats in Congress.–Tina G. Santos