MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections proclaimed the kin of the president of labor group, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, as an elected member of the House of Representatives.
TUCP partylist Rep. Raymond Mendoza took his oath before House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Wednesday, according to TUCP information officer Alan Tanjusay.
Mendoza had been designated member of the Committee on Appointments.
In an en banc resolution Friday last week, the Comelec said it recognizes lawyer Democrito Mendoza as the TUCP President and as the chairman of the TUCP party, and as such the commission recognizes his set of nominees.
Comelec records showed Mendoza submitted Raymond Mendoza, Anthony Sasin and Miguel Niez as the official party nominees.
The party won a seat after it garnered a total of 368,883-- a 1.38 percent of votes garnered for the party-list votes in the recent elections.
Claiming Mendoza had resigned, former senator Ernesto Herrera, then TUCP general-secretary, installed himself as president and party chairman.
Herrera's faction contested Mendoza's set of nominees and submitted their own set of nominees for the party-list before the poll body.
In resolving the dispute, the Comelec en banc ruled that Mendoza’s resignation was not consummated after he continued to fulfill his duties as president of the TUCP and as chairman of the party.
The Department of Labor and Employment has earlier recognized Mendoza as TUCP president.
Herrera appealed the decision but DoLE dismissed the motion for lack of new evidence.