The camp of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco appears to have a mace custom made for the session they will hold outside Batasang Pambansa to elect him as House Speaker Monday (October 12).

A mace was displayed on the floor at the banquet hall of Celebrity Sports Plaza, where Velasco’s supporters are expected to gather.

According to House rules, the mace “shall be the symbol of authority of the House and shall be displayed at the Speaker’s rostrum when the House is in session. It shall serve as the warrant of the Sergeant-at-Arms in enforcing order in the House.”

However, House Secretary General Ramon Apolinario said the mace at Celebrity Sports Plaza is fake.

“I am in custody of the official mace of the House of Representatives. That is not the official mace,” he said.

House Secretary Jose Luis Montales said all five of the House’s maces are in Apolinario’s custody.

“These four maces and the current mace of the House of Representatives are the only official maces of the House of Representatives and they are all currently in the custody of the House Sergeant-at-Arms,” he said.