Palace rues Makabayan’s exit from House majority

Malacañang on Thursday rued the exit of the Makabayan bloc from the majority in the House of Representatives.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella in a statement said that they “take due notice” of the seven leftist lawmakers’ decision to break away from President Rodrigo Duterte.

“We were hopeful that they would remain open to working together with the Administration, particularly on pro-poor, pro-people issues,” he said.

However, it was unclear if the administration was giving up on future collaborations with the bloc.

The Makabayan bloc cut ties with the administration because they said Duterte reneged on his words.

Their exit came after a pair of Left-nominated members of Duterte's Cabinet — former Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano — were rejected by the Commission on Appointments. —JST, GMA News