The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced it will proclaim Gabriela party-list’s first nominee, Sarah Elago, as the 64th winning party-list representative.
“Actually kung hindi tayo nagkakamali, officially ko nang babanggitin sa inyo, mukhang Gabriela party-list po yun,” Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia confirmed in an interview with DZMM.
He explained that the move is to meet the constitutional requirement that party-list representatives should make up 20 percent of the House of Representatives.
Garcia noted that the 63 party-list seats declared during Halalan 2025 only amounted to 19.8 percent of the chamber’s membership.
“Sapagkat ang 63 ay 19.8 lamang, samantalang nakalagay sa ating Saligang Batas ang party-list ay dapat 20 percent ng komposisyon ng mismong House of Representatives,” he said.
Garcia added that while allocating 64 seats would bring the share to 20.4 percent, it was preferable to exceed the threshold to satisfy the Constitution.
The Comelec en banc is expected to finalize its decision on Wednesday, with the proclamation of Elago tentatively scheduled on Thursday.