‘Let Marinduque lawmaker assume post’

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday ordered the House of Representatives to allow former Marinduque congressman Lord Allan Jay Velasco to assume the post as the lone district’s representative.

The high court said Velasco’s rival, Rep. Regina Reyes, who was proclaimed winner in the 2013 elections, has been disqualified.

Voting 8-16, the magistrates granted a petition filed by Velasco in February 2014 and ordered Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to recognize him as the duly elected winner.

The SC directed House secretary general Emilia Barua-Yap to put Velasco’s name in the roster of the House’s members in place of Reyes.

Velasco is a son of SC Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. and Ang Mata’y Alagaan party-list Rep. Lorna Velasco.

The high tribunal said Belmonte should administer the oath to Velasco and allow him to assume and exercise the function as a representative of Marinduque.

The SC upheld Reyes’ disqualification over her citizenship. The High Court said she failed to present evidence to support her claim that while she became a US citizen after marrying an American, she has not yet undergone naturalization.