Comelec to hold special election in Valenzuela for Gatchalian’s district��

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) will hold a special election for a new representative of Valenzuela City’s 1^st District following the appointment of Rexlon T. Gatchalian as Social Welfare secretary.����

“We are just waiting for the certification of the House of Representatives that (the position) is vacant,” Comelec Spokesperson John Rex C. Laudiangco told state media in an ambush interview on Wednesday.��

The declaration will also contain the date of the special election.����

“The law mandates the conducting of a special elections because we need to follow the Constitution’s rule of having a representative per legislative district in the House of Representatives,” he said.����

A “caretaker” solon will be assigned by the House for the district until a new representative is elected.����

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez told reporters that they will decide on the caretaker after consultations with Mr. Gatchalian and his party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz��