Proclamation pushes through sans Rody

MANILA, Philippines - The star of the show was a no-show.

Despite his absence, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was proclaimed by the joint session of Congress yesterday as the duly elected 16th president of the republic.

Leni Robredo, who attended the session as outgoing representative of Camarines Sur’s third district, was proclaimed as the elected vice president.

Duterte was represented by his lawyers, incoming justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and spokesman Salvador Panelo, in the proclamation rites.

The proclamation took place after the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the report of their canvassing committee and adopted Resolution of Both Houses No. 1 declaring Duterte and Robredo as the newly elected president and vice president.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III and House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, who headed the canvassing panel, sponsored the report.

The two said the tabulation was completed “in record time” – three days, from last Wednesday through Friday.

Gonzales said the canvass was conducted “in full view of the public and unimpeded by glitches and unresolved disputes.”

“Resolution of Both Houses No. 1 embodies the election results and the true will of the people,” he said.

Pimentel said the three-day canvassing “was the shortest in Philippine history.”

“In 2010, it took Congress nine days to proclaim the winners,” he said, referring to President Aquino and Vice President Jejomar Binay.

He rendered a detailed account of how the canvassing was done.

He told his colleagues that the panel he jointly headed with Gonzales tallied 48 certificates of canvass (COCs) on the first day and 66 on the second day.

He said they completed tabulating all 167 COCs from provinces and cities, and local and absentee votes on the third day.

Pimentel said there were certain discrepancies in some provincial COCs, including those from Antique, Iloilo City, Davao del Sur, Lanao del Sur and Northern Samar.

But the defects were sufficiently explained by the chairpersons of the provincial boards of canvassers, whom the canvassing committee summoned, he added.

As for the issue of the so-called under-votes raised by the camp of losing vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Pimentel recalled the statements made during last week’s canvass by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a member of the House panel in the canvassing committee.

Rodriguez had pointed out that a similar issue was raised during the 2010 canvassing, and that then Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ruled that Congress, sitting as a canvassing board, was not the proper body to resolve it.

He said Enrile suggested that such matter be raised in an election protest that could be filed before the Supreme Court acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

Pimentel then recommended the proclamation of Duterte, who he said received 16,601,997 votes, and Robredo, who had 14,418,817 votes.

He thanked members of the canvassing committee and lawyers of candidates for their cooperation in the speedy tabulation.

Brief interruptions

Before the resolution of proclamation could be approved, former Northern Samar representative Harlin Abayon made a scene by inquiring if his name was included in the roster of House members.

Gonzales responded that it was not, since the House had recognized Raul Daza as the new representative of Northern Samar’s first district.

When Abayon protested and insisted on speaking, Gonzales told him that his manifestation could no longer be entertained and that he was out of order, since Congress was holding its joint session as a canvassing board and not as a lawmaking body.

The majority leader then asked sergeant-at-arms Nicasio Radovan to escort Abayon out of the session hall, prompting Belmonte and Drilon to suspend session.

After a short recess, the former congressman chose to keep quiet.

The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) had ousted Abayon and installed Daza, but the Supreme Court reversed the HRET decision. Unfortunately for Abayon, he could not take his oath as Congress was in recess.

Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz of party-list group Abakada also took the floor in behalf of Marcos, for whom he campaigned.

He denounced alleged irregularities in the elections, including under-voting, which he claimed deprived his candidate of votes.

When the resolution of proclamation was approved, Drilon and Belmonte invited Duterte and Robredo to the Speaker’s rostrum to receive congratulatory messages and for a photo-taking session.

Only Robredo, accompanied by her three daughters, ascended the podium.

Nonetheless, Drilon and Belmonte said they were joining the Filipino people in congratulating Duterte as president-elect.

Lawmakers said Duterte broke tradition by not showing up at his proclamation.

They recalled that Aquino and Binay in 2010 and then President Arroyo and broadcaster Noli de Castro in 2004 attended the joint session of Congress, which declared them winners.

Aside from Drilon and Pimentel, senators who attended yesterday’s session included Ralph Recto, Juan Edgardo Angara, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Vicente Sotto III and Juan Ponce Enrile.

‘Absent for posterity’

Gonzales said it was unfortunate that Duterte declined to attend his proclamation but he respected the decision of the president-elect.

“I hope that (absence) is not going to be a preview (of his relationship with Congress), but he said anyway that he has never attended any proclamation so let’s take it as he said,” Gonzales said.

“Your presence does not make it more legal and ours is just that one goes to proclamation for posterity,” he said.

No disrespect

But Panelo stressed that Duterte did not disrespect the more than 16 million people who voted for him in the May 9 elections by refusing to attend his proclamation.

The incoming spokesman said Duterte’s presence in the event is not required by law.

Panelo said Duterte chose to stay in Davao City and complete the line-up of his Cabinet rather than attend his proclamation, which he considers only a “social formality.”

He said thanking those who voted for him and doing his job as chief executive would be more an expression of respect.

Panelo issued the statement after election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said Duterte’s presence in the proclamation rites was supposed to show his respect to Congress and to his supporters.

“Duterte should not disappoint these millions of people and adoring fans in this once in a lifetime event,” Macalintal said. – With Paolo Romero, Robertzon Ramirez