Lagman warns vs ‘company union’ minority leader in 18th Congress
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2019 09:03:38 +0000
WITH a supermajority looming at the House of Representatives, a leader of an independent opposition bloc slammed the possible anointment of a pro-administration lawmaker to head the minority.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, leader of the “Magnificent 7” in the 17th Congress, said although presumptive Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano seeks to unite the House through a “Diehard Duterte Supermajority,” he did not mention the need to have a minority leader who would genuinely represent the opposition.
“While presumptive Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has repeatedly promised to institute reforms in the House of Representatives, he has never mentioned about respecting the emergence of an authentic minority leader,” Lagman said in a statement Monday.
“The rejection of a possible minority leader and the accommodation of a favored one is installing a ‘company union’ in disguise,” he said.
Lagman’s statement comes amid reports that one of Cayetano’s allies said that a certain opposition lawmaker was “not welcome” to seek minority leadership.
“This selective and discriminatory stance augurs the anointment by the supermajority of the next minority leader, a practice reminiscent of the 17th Congress where the leader of the so-called opposition was twice handpicked by the House leadership,” the lawmaker added.
Lagman had said that the House opposition would consider fielding its own candidate for speakership who could subsequently become the minority leader if only one candidate from the administration would emerge. But with only a week until the 18th Congress opens, neither Lagman nor any member of his bloc has directly expressed his bid.
From the opposition, only Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate from the Makabayan bloc is gunning for the speakership, but may have little chances of winning.
Aside from Cayetano, the other speaker hopefuls who were not endorsed by the President are still strongly tied to the administration. Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco was previously chosen as the official bet by the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) headeed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez of the Lakas-Chrsitian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), previously forged an alliance with the regional political party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) led by Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Duterte-Carpio and her brother Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte had formed the Duterte coalition endorsing the bid of Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, prior to their father’s endorsement of Cayetano.
The President brokered last week a three-year term sharing deal between Cayetano and Velasco, with the Taguig lawmaker sitting on the first 15 months and Velasco taking over in the next 21 months.
Ungab and Velasco, the remaining bets allied with the Duterte siblings, have not yet explicitly stated that they were backing down from the race which will end on July 22, when the 18th Congress formally convenes. GLEE JALEA
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