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Joint Session opens to canvass votes for Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections: Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III declares the presence of a quorum on the part of the Senate as senators and representatives convene in a joint public session Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at the House of Representatives, Quezon City. Sotto informed the body that the first certificate of canvass (COC) received electronically by the consolidated canvassing system was from San Juan City on May 9, 2022 at 10:28 pm; the first ballot box containing a COC was from Malabon City delivered on May 10 at 6:56 pm; and the first overseas absentee voting COC was from the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia delivered May 11, 6:59 am. He said the Senate so far received a total of 157 COCs and 16 more are expected to arrive in the coming days. “The primordial task of Congress is to ensure that the sovereign will of the people expressed through the ballot is respected and upheld. Thus, Congress shall determine the authenticity and due execution of the certificates of canvass submitted to it in accordance with applicable laws in an orderly and transparent manner,” Sotto said. (Voltaire Domingo/ Senate PRIB)