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Sen. Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Committee on Finance, presides over the Subcommittee A hybrid hearing on the proposed P30.6-billion budget of the Department of Finance and its attached agencies, Monday, October 3, 2022. Joseph Vidal, Senate PRIB

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SENATE

Kevin Alabaso

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said he &quot;strongly&quot; believes that the Senate will not call for a special election if Sen. Sonny Angara vacates his position to accept his appointment as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia cited several woes regarding his belief, including the commission&#x27;s lack of funds for a special election and the short time frame of a special election and the 2025 midterm elections.&quot;More or less po, without pre-empting &#x27;yung ating Senado, malamang po talaga ay hindi na sila magpatawag ng special election sapagkat medyo napakaiksi na po ng panahon na natitira para doon sa susunod na halalan,&quot; Garcia said in an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo&#x27;s Johnson Ikwento Mo.&quot;Syempre gagastusan po &#x27;yan ng Comelec... More or less mga P13-15 billion po &#x27;yan. Wala na po tayong [pondo] at kung magpatawag ng special elections, kakailanganin ng special appropriations kung saan ang Kongreso at Senado rin mismo ang magpapasa niyan. Kaya talagang ako&#x27;y masidhi ang paniniwala na baka hindi na magpatawag ng special election ang Senado at pababayaan na lang na bakante &#x27;yung pang 24 na posisyon,&quot; he continued.Garcia added that in case the Senate calls for a special election, it would most likely happen on January 2025.&quot;Kung sakali, mukhang kakayanin namin mga January. Magpapatawag ka ba naman ng special election ng January samantalang may eleksyon ka na ng Mayo,&quot; he said.This, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Angara on July 2 as the new chief of DepEd, following Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s resignation as secretary last June 19.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/2/sonny-angara-is-new-deped-chief-1148">Sonny Angara is new DepEd chief</a></div>Garcia said in case Angara accepts the new position, his Senate seat is automatically vacated and it is up to the Senate if they would call for a special election to fill in the slot.&quot;Mananatili po &#x27;yan [bakante] hanggang sa matapos ang termino ni Sen. Angara hanggang June 30, 2025. Kaya pag tayo ay naghalal sa susunod na halalan sa May, 12 pa rin po,&quot; he said.When asked if the senator would be able to go back to his Senate post in case he resigns as DepEd chief, Garcia said it would not be possible.&quot;Once nagresign na po sa Senado, hindi na po pwedeng balikan ulit &#x27;yung  pagiging senador. Ang tawag po natin dyan ay incompatible office. Pag tinanggap mo &#x27;yung incompatible office from legislative to executive, that is an abandonment — permanent abandonment of the previous position,&quot; he said.Meanwhile, the Comelec chief said they will meet with National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officials to discuss controversial Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and said they would request the NBI&#x27;s findings in the fingerprint examination they conducted.

The chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said he "strongly" believes that the Senate will not call for a special election if Sen. Sonny Angara vacates his position to accept his appointment as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

The chairman of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said he "strongly" believes that the Senate will not call for a special election if Sen. Sonny Angara vacates his position to accept his appointment as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

Comelec chief believes Senate won't call for special elections amid Angara appointment

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Comelec chief believes Senate won't call for special elections amid Angara appointment

Kevin Alabaso,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 03, 2024 12:50 AM PHT

Read More:

Comelec

George Garcia

Sonny Angara

Senate

DepEd

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