Hindi makapagbigay si Senate President Franklin Drilon ng timeframe kung kailan maipoproklama ng National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) ang mga nagwagi sa May 2016 elections.
“I really cannot give a timeframe. I do not see any problem with the presidency, but given the tight race for the vice presidency, I would refrain from making any predictions, given the fact that we do not know how things would evolve, or what questions would be raised,” sabi ni Drilon sa isang panayam.
“I have done this before in 2004, we proclaimed the president five days before the expiring of the period. We have until June 30 to proclaim the president and vice president,” aniya.
Sinabi rin ni Drilon na magtitipun-tipon ang Senate at House of Representatives bilang NBOC sa Mayo 25 at ang una nilang gagawin ay ang pagtatag ng rules of canvassing.
Sinabi niya na nai-turnover na sa Senate ang first batch ng mga certificate of canvass (CoC). Ang mga CoC na nai-transmit sa mataas na kapulungan ay nagmula sa San Juan City na naglalaman ng mga CoC at election return (ER) para sa president at vice president.
Lahat ng CoC, aniya, ay ide-deliver sa Senate at kalaunan ay ililipat sa Batasan Complex sa Quezon City, kung saan gaganapin ang canvassing.
“We are performing our constitutional duty. Under the Constitution, Congress acts as NBOC to proclaim the President and the Vice President. The Comelec will not be the body to proclaim the new president and vice president, but it is the Congress,” aniya.
Sinabi rin ni Drilon na nangangailangan ang Senado ng siyam na senador na sasaksi sa canvassing, dahil ang mga senador na tumakbo para president at vice president sa halalan ay inaasahan nang mag-i-inhibit.
“It will be in the joint rules. In the Senate, we have seven who ran for president and vice-president. Then we have two under detention, so that’s already nine. So 24 minus nine, that’s 15. We have Sen. (Nancy) Binay who is related to vice-president (Jejomar) Binay and Sen. (Pia) Cayetano. That leaves us 13,” banggit niya.
“So very tight. We have to constitute a committee of nine to do the actual canvass, so that leaves us only with 13 senators, and that includes me. So there are only 12 senators from where we can choose the nine,” aniya. (Hannah Torregoza)
