Sarah Elago Sworn In as Gabriela Party-List Representative Following Comelec Declaration

Gabriela party-list Representative Sarah Elago solemnly took her oath as the newest member of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, administered by Speaker Francisco "Bojie" Dy III. This followed the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) official announcement that Gabriela secured the 64th and final seat allocated to party-list groups in the recent polls.

Addressing the challenges faced by party-list organizations, Elago remarked, "It is hard to win an election in a party-list system packed with political dynasties, big-time contractors and red-tagging, on top of smear campaigns. Our leaders are being surveilled, faced trumped up charges. But these won't deter us. Nandito pa rin kami lumalaban at handang magpanalo ng agenda ng mga kababaihan at labanan ang korapsyon." Prior to this role, she served as a representative for the Kabataan party-list from 2016 to 2022.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution requires that 20% of the House of Representatives be composed of party-list members. With the House consisting of 317 representatives in total, the 20% quota equates to 64 seats for party-list groups.

Elago's induction, however, does not affect the three seats won by the Duterte Youth party-list in the May 2025 elections. Those seats remain vacant after Comelec nullified the Duterte Youth registration over failure to comply with mandatory publication and hearing requirements concerning their 2019 candidacy.

Elago's ascension highlights continuing efforts by party-list groups to represent marginalized sectors despite systemic obstacles within the Philippine electoral framework.