Ex-NYC chair Karl Legazpi proclaimed as Pinoy Workers Party-List representative

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday proclaimed Karl Josef Legazpi, former commissioner-at-large of the National Youth Commission (NYC), as the new representative of the Pinoy Workers Party-list.

He will be replacing his brother, Franz Legazpi, who resigned on Tuesday, along with 1-Tahanan Party-list Representative Nathaniel Oducado.

The certificate of nominations provided by Comelec showed that Karl was not among the 10 nominees of the Pinoy Workers Party-list.

Comelec chairperson George Garcia explained that the nine other nominees were expelled since they have other party-lists.

“Inexpel nila ang mga nominee na iba kasi nagtayo ng bago PL at naging officers ng ibang PL,” Garcia said.

(They expelled the other nominee because they put up a new party-list, and they became officers.)

Garcia explained that the next representative of a party-list should come in succession from the 10 nominees.

“Sa party list wala naman po eleksyon kung hindi susundin lang po yung nasa listahan,” Garcia said at Kapihan sa Manila Bay.

(In a party-list system, there is no election per se; the nominees in the list are simply followed in order)

Before he was appointed NYC commissioner-at-large in 2024, Karl was a director at the House of Representatives.

Oducado and Franz were among the 257 members of the House who voted for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a post on his social media account, Oducado said he resigned due to personal reasons, "chief among them my health and my family."

"These are not small things. They are, in truth, the most important things, and they deserve my full attention," he said.

Meanwhile, Commission on Elections chairperson George Garcia said resignation among party-list representatives is normal.

“Normal lang po itong pangyayari lalo na sa party-list. Kalimitan, inaasahan mo na laging may nagbibitiw, may aalis sa kanilang party-list,” Garcia told reporters in an interview.

(This is a normal occurrence, especially in party-list groups. It is usually expected that there will always be members who resign or leave their party-list.)

Comelec has yet to receive the certificate of vacancy for Oducado from the House of Representatives before proclaiming a new representative. –VAL, GMA News