Party-list solon designated as Benguet caretaker

ACT-CIS party-list Representative Eric Go Yap has been designated as the caretaker of Benguet province following the death of its representative, Nestor Fongwan, in December.

This was confirmed by Yap's staff to GMA News Online on Wednesday.

According to his staff, Yap has "big plans" for Benguet as its caretaker. He did not elaborate.

Assigning a caretaker has recently been practiced at the House of Representatives whenever there is a vacancy in the position, even as the chamber's rules state that a special election should be held in cases of vacancy in the representation of legislative districts.

When former Batanes Representative Henedina Abad passed away in 2017, the House designated former Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. as the caretaker of the legislative district.

Belmonte, during his designation as caretaker of Batanes, said the "choice of caretaker is solely the prerogative of the Speaker."

Meanwhile, PBA party-list Representative Jericho Nograles was assigned to take over the first district of Davao City in the 17th Congress after his brother, Karlo Nograles, was appointed Cabinet Secretary by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Fongwan died on December 18, 2019 at the age of 68. He served as Benguet governor from 2007 to 2016 before returning to politics in the May 2019 elections, successfully winning a seat in the House of Representatives. —KBK, GMA News