MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives unseated An Waray Representative Florencio “Bem” Noel on Wednesday, September 27, after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) invalidated the party-list group’s credentials.

“I move that the secretary general be directed to execute and implement the resolution and accordingly, drop the An Waray Party-List Representative from the roll of members of the 19th Congress,” Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin said.

Noel’s removal from the lower chamber comes after the Supreme Court ignored An Waray’s request to issue an order that could have blocked the Comelec decision.

Noel is the fifth congressman dropped from the chamber’s roll this year after Valenzuela 1st District’s Rex Gatchalian (appointed social welfare secretary), Bicol Saro’s Nicolas Enciso VIII (expelled from his party-list group), ACT-CIS’ Jeffrey Soriano (resigned), and Negros Oriental 3rd District’s Arnie Teves (expelled by the House over an ethics case).

What happened to An Waray’s registration papers?

The Comelec punished An Waray for violating the party-list law.

Ten years ago, the group let its second nominee assume a congressional seat despite the absence of a certificate of proclamation from the poll body.

In May 2013, An Waray was among the top vote-getters in the party-list race, ranking 14th overall out of over 100 names on the ballot. It was among the groups proclaimed first in May that year, which meant it was guaranteed one seat “without prejudice to the allocation of additional seats,” consistent with a complex formula for party-list seat allocations.

In June 2013, the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) issued a certificate of proclamation to first nominee Bem Noel, and in July, resolved to “note” his request to issue another certificate of proclamation to his sister, second nominee Victoria Noel.

Victoria Noel took her oath of office the same month, but in August, another NBOC resolution indicated that An Waray was only entitled to one seat.

In May 2019, a petition was filed seeking to cancel An Waray’s registration, citing the incident in 2013. It argued that An Waray violated the party-list law because it failed to comply with election rules.

The Comelec ruled in favor of the petition, saying Victoria Noel’s stint in the House was a clear violation of party-list rules.

The petitioners in the case include incumbent lawmaker Jude Acidre, who now represents Tingog, another party-list group based in Eastern Visayas. He used to be the original second nominee of An Waray in 2013 until he resigned due to “personal reasons.”

Who is Bem Noel?

The unseated lawmaker was once chairperson of the accounts committee – which handles the chamber’s internal budget – in the House of Representatives under the Aquino administration.

In 2011, he and his wife, then Malabon lawmaker Josephine Lacson-Noel, were on the opposite side of the fence on the issue of the reproductive health bill (he was against it, she was in favor).

Noel was an ally of then president Benigno Aquino III and was once appointed by him as director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

He resigned in 2015 to help mount the failed 2016 presidential bid of Senator Grace Poe.

Noel returned to Congress in 2019 after becoming An Waray’s first nominee in the party-list race that year. – Rappler.com