De Vera removed as ABS party-list Representative

Lawyer Eugene Michael De Vera was removed on Monday as representative of the ABS party-list in the House of Representatives.

De Vera was dropped from the role of members following the manifestation of Majority Leader Rolando Andaya informing the lawmakers that the former has been removed as member of his own party-list.

During the plenary session, Andaya said the House has received a communication from ABS party-list president Catalina Pizarro, informing the chamber that the party-list approved a board resolution expelling De Vera as their member, removing him as representative of the party-list.

The board has also named its second nominee, Ulysses Garces, as representative to replace De Vera.

LOOK: Atty. Eugene De Vera was removed as representative of the ABS party-list following the decision of his party-list’s board to remove him as their member. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/Sh6rKs8vVn

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) November 19, 2018

Aside from this, Andaya said the House also received a resolution from the Commission on Elections en banc stating that De Vera, as member of chamber, is under its jurisdiction and covered by its rules and regulations.

"In view of the foregoing, may I request that the Secretary General be instructed to drop from the roll of members of the House of Representatives Representative De Vera and allow the nominee-next-in-line of the ABS party-list, the Honorable Ulysses Garces, to take his oath as member of the House and representative of the ABS party-list," Andaya said.

De Vera, however, opposed Andaya's manifestation, saying that the decision to remove him as party-list representative should be under the jurisdiction of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) following their rules.

De Vera has a pending case before the HRET filed by Pizarro questioning his qualification as member of the ABS party-list.

"I am a sitting member of this august chamber. And what is being questioned against me is my qualification of being a bona fide member of my party-list ABS," De Vera said.

"The jurisdiction as far as this is concerned is within the province of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal," he added.

De Vera also said a mere letter cannot be a basis to remove him from his post.

"Let us wait for the results of the hearings being conducted now before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal," he said.

Despite his opposition, presiding speaker Prospero Pichay Jr. still instructed the Secretary General to remove De Vera from the roll of members, after Andaya said that it was the situation they had even though it was not his "personal liking."

"It is a ministerial duty," Andaya said.

Garces, however, was not able to take his oath as the session was adjourned abruptly.

De Vera was among those who sought to head the minority bloc of the House of Representatives following the leadership shakeup after Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was elected at the helm of the chamber.

Among those who joined De Vera's "minority bloc" were the allies of former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. — BM, GMA News