Duterte to have ‘final say’ in PDP-Laban bet for speakership — Pacquiao
Credit to Author: BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO| Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2019 10:00:08 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will have the “final say” in the selection of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) candidate for the speakership at the House of Representatives, Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao said on Wednesday.
Pacquiao said the President, as PDP-Laban national chairman, must be given the “honor, respect” in choosing the party candidate for the speakership in the 18th Congress.
The PDP-Laban candidates are: Lord Allan Velasco of Marinduque, Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte, and Aurelio Gonzales of Pampanga.
The non-PDP members eyeing the top HoR post are: Leyte Rep.-elect Martin Romualdez of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) and Taguig Representative-elect Alan Peter Cayetano of the Nacionalista Party.
Asked to comment on the Palace statement that the President would not meddle in the process, Pacquiao said, “Actually ‘di naman talaga nakikiaalam si Presidente (Actually, the President is not meddling).”
“Pero sa pagbigay ng honor, respeto sa ating Pangulo kailangan din niya makuha ‘yung basbas niya (But to give honor, respect to our President, he [the PDP lawmaker to be chosen for speakership] must get the President’s blessings),” Pacquiao said in an interview.
“At syempre si Presidente ang pangulo ng partido natin kailangan din niyang mag-suggest ng kandidato sa speakership (And, of course, the President is the head of our party, he needs to suggest the candidate for speakership),” he said.
Pacquiao also said that he may announce the party’s candidate within the week or before his flight to the United States on Saturday.
“Napag-usapan kagabi na before ako umalis matapos na itong problema para di na watak watak ‘yung PDP members (We agreed last night that before I leave we resolve this problem so that the PDP members are not divided),” he said.
PDP Laban Party president, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel 3rd, delegated the task and responsibility of announcing the party’s nominee for Speaker to Pacquiao.
“The PDP Laban, the party of President Duterte, is the biggest bloc in Congress with more than 94 representatives on top the partylist congressmen allied with us and therefore it is imperative that the Speaker should be come from PDP-Laban,” Pimentel said.
“We will unite behind a single nominee chosen among these three distinguished congressmen: former Speaker and Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales and Marinduque Rep. Lord Alan Velasco,” he said.
Pimentel added, “We will stand united in ensuring that we will have a Speaker who can truly work not only with his peers in the House but also with the members of the Senate.”
“We will stand as one in this fight with firm belief that more than ever, President Duterte needs the assurance that he can count on Congress in pushing for the much needed reforms that would uplift the lives of our people,” Pimentel said.
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