THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Tuesday that the Senate seat to be vacated by Sen. Sonny Angara when he assumes the role of Education Secretary will remain vacant until the elections next year.
On Tuesday, Malacañang announced that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. appointed Angara as DepEd chief, replacing Vice President Sara Dutert who resigned last month.
“Katulad din po sa vacancy, kapag may bakante po dyan sa House of Representatives dahil may namatay o nag-resign, o na-appoint yung isang miyembro ng House of Representatives, ganun din po ang prinsipyo dun sa Senado… Bakante po ang posisyon… Ang pagpi-fill up ng posisyon na iyan ay naka-depende sa mismong House of Representatives o kaya sa Senado,” Garcia explained.
The situation will only change if Congress calls for a special election for the vacated Senate seat.
“Depende po sa leadership ng Senado kung magpapatawag sila ng special elections o pababayaan po nila na vacant na lamang yung posisyon, hanggang sa matapos na yung term sa June 30, 2025,” he added.
A vacated Senate seat, unlike the House of Representatives, will no longer need a “caretaker,” since the nature of a senator’s job is national in scope, Garcia said.
Assessing the situation, Garcia believes that the Senate will no longer call for a special election to replace Angara, whose last term as a senator will also end in June 2025.
Prior to Angara’s official appointment, Senate President Chiz Escudero had already said there would be no need to hold a special election to fill up Angara’s post.
“The term of Senator Angara will be expiring in June 2025 anyway. So intayin na lang siguro mag-expire ‘yun (Let us just wait for that to expire). So if the Senator will accept it, if he is appointed, there will only be 23 sitting Senators,” Escudero explained.
Garcia meantime joined many government officials in congratulating Angara for his appointment.
“Partner kami ng DepEd. Partner kami noon, partner kami ngayon, hanggang sa mga susunod na panahon. Lalong-lalo na sa pagko-conduct ng eleksyon,” Garcia said.
