Roberto Uy takes oath of office as Zamboanga del Norte representative

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Roberto Uy, Jr. (Zamboanga del Norte, 1st District) took his oath of office as a member of the House of Representatives on Monday before House Speaker Martin Romualdez. 

This follows the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) proclamation of Uy as the winning candidate for the congressional race in the 1st District of Zamboanga Del Norte last week, who it said gained a higher number of votes than Romeo Jalosjos, Jr. 

"I am honored by this proclamation and the trust that the people of the 1st District of Zamboanga del Norte have placed in me. I am committed to working tirelessly to bring back the old glory of our beloved province," Uy said.

The Comelec's decision came after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Uy and voided the poll body's initial proclamation of Jalosjos.

Jalosjos was proclaimed the winning congressional candidate in June last year even as he was placed second behind Uy with 69,109 votes. The Comelec decided to "legally pass" the 5,424 votes obtained by a certain Frederico Jalosjos (F. Jalosjos), a nuisance candidate.

This bumped up Jalosjos' votes to more than 74,000, winning over Uy by 4,942 votes.

The SC annulled this Comelec decision, however, and stressed that only candidates receiving the higher number of votes should be proclaimed and without unnecessary delay. — Cristina Chi