6 lawmakers named as HRET members

MANILA, Philippines - A month after the opening of the 16th Congress, the members of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) have been named.

According to the public relations office of the House of Representatives, those chosen to be HRET members are Reps. Franklin Bautista (Davao del Sur), Joselito Mendoza (Bulacan), Mark Enverga (Quezon City), Ma. Theresa Bonoan (Manila), Jerry Treñas (Iloilo), and Luzviminda Ilagan (Gabriela party-list).

Meanwhile, HRET members from the Supreme Court (SC) are still Justices Presbitero Velasco, who is acting as chairman; Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin.

In connection with this, Marinduque Rep. Regina Reyes, in a statement, reiterated her appeal to Velasco to inhibit from handling the electoral case filed against her by her rival, Lord Allan Velasco, the justice’s son.

Since Justice Velasco is her rival’s father, Reyes said it is but natural that the justice will favor his son, who lost the election against her by more than 3,000 votes.

Earlier, Reyes expressed confidence that she would be able to get a fair trial, now that her electoral case is being handled by the HRET.

She is expecting the HRET to give her a chance to present evidence that will prove that she is a Filipino citizen and that she has renounced her foreign citizenship, which she got when she was still in the United States, before she ran for office in the recent elections.