Alvarez: 2 speakership bets buying votes for P500K to P1M per congressman
Credit to Author: GLEE JALEA| Date: Tue, 28 May 2019 08:00:35 +0000
DAVAO del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez disclosed on Tuesday that two aspirants for the speakership have been buying the vote of each congressman at the House of Representatives at a price ranging from P500,000 to P1 million.
In an interview over CNN Philippines, Alvarez said that these two lawmakers whom he did not identify have been offering money in exchange for a signed manifestation of support.
“My colleagues told me that someone offered P500,000 per congressman and then this was countered by another with P1 million per congressman,” Alvarez said in mixed English and Filipino.
Alvarez, a former Speaker, is among the contenders for the speakership race, along with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s alleged personal pick; Minority-backed Leyte Rep.-elect Martin Romualdez; Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio Gonzales, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan’s (PDP-Laban) national deputy campaign manager; former Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano; and outgoing senator-turned-Antique Rep. Loren Legarda.
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, the President’s son, said he won’t seek the speakership after his father threatened to resign.
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez claimed previously that an endorsement from Duterte-Carpio would likely seal the deal for legislators wanting to get the top House post given talks that she could succeed her father in the presidential elections.
But given Duterte-Carpio’s rift with Cayetano and Alvarez, Suarez said that the race would likely be narrowed down to two popular choices: Velasco and Romualdez.
In a separate interview on Tuesday, Velasco was quick to defend his involvement in the vote-buying incident, amid rumors that he was one of the two whom Alvaraez was referring to.
“I’m not giving away a P1 million…congressmen should respect fellow congressmen. They won’t go through that dealing just to be able to get the votes. Each congressman has his or her own views so I don’t think each congressman can be bought that easily,” Velasco said.
He, however, admitted that his close ties with the Dutertes were a good advantage, especially in addressing problems at the House.
Meanwhile, Romualdez, who is also being linked to the vote-buying issue by unknown sources, has yet to comment on the matter.
Romualdez has secured the signatures of at least 126 lawmakers in the manifesto of support for his bid.
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