MOST PARTY-LIST groups are backing Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez’s bid for the speakership of the House of Representatives, a congressman said on Monday.
Almost 60 party-list lawmakers have pledged support to keep the former House speaker’s leadership over the chamber, showing overwhelming consensus to keep the President’s cousin at the helm, Party-list Rep. Alfredo A. Garbin, Jr. told reporters.
“There are 63 seats allocated for the party-list, but 58 support the Speaker,” he said in Filipino, referring to Mr. Romualdez.
The 1987 Constitution mandates that party-list groups be provided 20% of the total seat allocation in Congress to help marginalized sectors push their legislative agenda.
About 287 lawmakers have already expressed support for keeping Mr. Romualdez as leader of the chamber, Manila Rep. Ernesto M. Dionisio, Jr. said last week.
Newly elected lawmakers began their term in the 20th Congress on Monday, but sessions won’t start until July 28, when they will elect the next House Speaker before President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. delivers his fourth annual state of the nation address.
There was speculation that some lawmakers were eyeing the House speakership, a powerful post with national influence that holds sway over more than 300 district and sectoral representatives nationwide.
Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio in May nudged Davao City Rep. Paolo Z. Duterte, her brother, to gun for the speakership role in the 20th Congress, which would convene in mid-July.
Meanwhile, two party-list lawmakers on Monday filed a resolution urging the chamber to oppose the efforts to seek the interim release of ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who is facing charges of crimes against humanity in connection with his deadly war on drugs.
“The House of Representatives, as duly elected representatives of the Filipino people, must stand in solidarity with victims of human rights violations,” Party-list Reps. Antonio L. Tinio and Renee Louise M. Co said in House Resolution No. 9, a copy of which was shared to reporters.
Mr. Rodrigo in mid-June petitioned the International Criminal Court to allow his interim release to another country, citing his old age and a vow not to run off or commit crimes. He is currently awaiting trial for alleged crimes against humanity in The Hague, the Netherlands. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio