THE Lower House of Congress declared its readiness for the canvassing of votes and proclamation of winning candidates for President and Vice President of the recently concluded May 9 national and local polls.
According to House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza, the House is “all systems go” for the canvassing and proclamation that will start next week, wherein they will be joined by the Senate and convene as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).
The “House Contingent” of the NBOC will be composed of House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, together with House Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other congressmen as members.
Mendoza added that they will still strictly enforce the health at safety protocols against COVID-19.
However, Mendoza assured that the NBOC will remain transparent in the canvassing, whether with the media or the general public.
In terms of security since the 2022 national and local elections were deemed highly polarized, Mendoza said that the reason why they implemented a registration process for the canvassing is for them to effectively screen and filter the guests who will be entering the Batasan Pambansa complex.
He said that the House is already coordinating with the Philippine National Police in case there are groups who may hold protest actions outside of the complex.