Media exec Elmer Catulpos proclaimed as 1 Tahanan Party-List representative

Media executive and businessman Elmer Catulpos has been proclaimed as the new representative of 1 Tahanan Party-List, replacing Nathaniel Oducado, who resigned earlier this month.

Catulpos took the post after the second and third nominees resigned, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia.

Catulpos is the president and CEO of Brigada Group of Companies, which operates FM radio stations, a TV network, pharmacies, and security agencies.

He also served as president of the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and worked in the Philippine Red Cross and Rotary International.

On May 19, Oducado resigned along with Franz Legazpi, who was replaced by his brother, former commissioner-at-large of the National Youth Commission Karl Josef Legazpi.

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."

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.) —VAL, GMA News