Illegal to proclaim 13 new senators, says GO

The Genuine Opposition Monday opposed a proposed proclamation of 13 senators, in light of Senator Alfredo Lim's departure to assume the post of Manila mayor.

GO spokesperson Adel Tamano said that the proclamation is unconstitutional unless a special election is held to fill the vacancy.

Tamano said, "It would be unconstitutional because you have to call for a special election to fill up a vacancy, which would only be for the unexpired term."

He added that the voters were asked to fill in only the twelve blanks in the ballot so the understanding was that they were only choosing twelve and not thirteen members of the Senate.

Team Unity bet Juan Miguel Zubiri is currently at the 13th slot of the ongoing canvassing by the Commission on Elections. 

However, Tamano clarified that whether the 13th bet was opposition or administration, “We will have a similar stand on this whoever lands in Number 13. We will object to it because of the lack of legal basis to proclaim 13."