BY WENDELL VIGILIA and RAYMOND AFRICA
LAWMAKERS, which will convene as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), are eyeing to proclaim the winners in the presidential and vice presidential race in the May 9 elections by Wednesday night or Thursday morning, at the latest.
Senate majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday said the canvassing will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until all the COCs have been counted, which he said is expected in two days.
He said they do not expect the canvassing to take long since the leading candidates have overwhelming leads over their rivals.
“All observations will be noted. If there are glaring discrepancies, we will take it aside… We will entertain all objections, we will answer them. If we can finish in two days, I will be very appreciative of that,” Zubiri said in a press conference.
Once the canvassing is done, Zubiri said the NBOC will proclaim the winners either on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
House Secretary General Llandro Mendoza said lawmakers from the House of Representatives want the canvassing to be done 24 hours every day, without suspensions, until all votes are counted and the winners proclaimed.
Mendoza said assured the public that Congress would conduct the canvassing of votes “with efficiency and full transparency” through continuous live streaming and media coverage.
“Walang tulugan. Hindi naman sa nagmamadali, (pero) mabilis lang talaga ‘yung proseso ngayon. Very transparent naman. Nandyan kayo at may livestream (There will be no sleep.
We’re not rushing but the process is really quick now. It’s very transparent. You’re all there and there’s a livestream),” he told reporters.
Through the expeditious conduct of the canvassing, lawmakers can immediately return to work and pass important pending pieces of legislation, Mendoza said.
The Senate yesterday resumed regular sessions and adopted the resolution convening the Senate and the House of Representatives as the NBOC which will canvass and proclaim the winners in the presidential and vice-presidential elections.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III and 14 other senators were physically present, while six were virtually present. Senators Francis Tolentino and Emmanuel Pacquiao were not around during the roll call.
The Senate adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 18 which will allow both chambers to hold a joint public session starting today to be held at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.
Lawmakers are expected to craft and adopt the rules for canvassing and name the members of the Senate and House panels who will constitute the Joint Canvassing Committee that will do the actual canvassing of votes.
Members of the Senate panel in the NBOC are Senators Zubiri, Nancy Binay, Franklin Drilon, Imee Marcos, Ralph Recto, Grace Poe and Pia Cayetano, while their alternates are Senators Lito Lapid, Risa Hontiveros, Aquilino Pimentel III, and Ronald dela Rosa.
The House of Representatives yesterday accepted from the Senate more than 150 certificates of canvass (COCs) for the start of the canvassing of votes for president and vice president today.
The ballot boxes containing the COCs arrived at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City from the Senate building in Pasay City at around 5:00 a.m.
The Senate started receiving COCs immediately after the closing of election precincts last May 9.
As of Thursday last week, the Senate has received 156 of the total 173 ballot boxes which contained the COCs. They were transported to the HOR early Monday.
Under Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution, the Senate is mandated to receive the returns of every election for president and vice president, duly certified by the Board of Canvassers of each province or city.
Zubiri said the Senate will resume sessions as soon as the canvassing is finished and tackle other important matters, including the committee report of the Blue Ribbon committee on the Pharmally issue.
