Ako Bicol reclaims Zaldy Co’s House seat

Ako Bicol party-list on Wednesday reclaimed the House seat earlier vacated by resigned lawmaker Zaldy Co after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed its third nominee, lawyer Jan Franz Norbert Joselito Chan as the group’s new representative.

Chan’s proclamation was attended by five Comelec commissioners, including Chairman George Erwin Garcia.

Other Comelec commissioners present during Chan’s proclamation were: Rey Bulay, Ernesto Maceda, Jr., Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal and Noli Pipo.

Ako Bicol won two seats in the 2025 polls with 1.07 million votes or 2.57% of the votes cast in the party-list race.

In an interview after his proclamation, Chan said he looks forward to proposing bills concerning renewable energy, mental health, and disaster resilience once he assumes office in Congress.

“We are excited to serve. This was unexpected, but our priority now is to continue public service,” he said.

Under the Republic Act No. 7941 or the Party-list law, groups that obtain a minimum of 2% voter share in a party-list race are entitles to one House seat.

An additional seat is granted to the party-list group proportional to its additional percentage of voter share.

However, the law allows each party-list group to occupy no more than three seats.

Party-list groups that receive less than 2% of the total votes may still be entitled to one seat if those garnering at least 2% are not enough to fill the 64 seats allocated for party-list representatives under the Constitution.

Ako Bicol is represented in the House by lawyer Alfredo Garbin, its second nominee.

In a statement sent to GMA News Online, Garbin said Chan is well-equipped and has the integrity to serve as a legislator.

“We warmly welcome the proclamation of Atty. Jan Chan as the second nominee of the Ako Bicol Party List.  As a seasoned lawyer, Atty. Chan brings with him not only competence and integrity, but also a deep understanding of the legislative process and the needs of our people,” he said.

“His assumption of office strengthens our capacity to craft meaningful legislation and to deliver programs and assistance that uplift the lives of our constituents,” Garbin added.

Co, Ako Bicol's first nominee, resigned from his House post after he was linked to anomalies surrounding flood control projects that were supposedly funded through budget insertions when he was chair of the House appropriations committee.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said earlier that Co is likely to face malversation charges over the P289 million ghost flood control project in Oriental Mindoro built by contractor Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation.

Sunwest is owned by Co's family members.

Before resigning, Co fled the country as the flood control scandal broke out, for supposed medical reasons. He has denied allegations hurled against him.—MCG, GMA Integrated News