Arroyo's Lakas, party-list bloc forge coalition with Duterte's PDP-Laban

The political party of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and a 40-member party-list bloc formally forged a coalition Wednesday with the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) to support the administration of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte.

Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), represented by its president and outgoing Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, signed the “covenant of unity” with PDP-Laban vice chairman Alfonso Cusi and incoming Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez, Duterte’s choice for House Speaker during a gathering of lawmakers in Pasay City.

The party-list coalition also signed a separate agreement with PDP-Laban at the event.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, the bloc’s spokesperson, earlier expressed support for the candidate for speakership “who can guarantee a fair and equitable distribution of positions and chairmanship in the House of Representatives.

“As one of the most active and responsive legislators in the various committee hearings and plenary debates held in the 16th Congress, members of the [party-list] coalition vow to continue and strengthen our engagement in our duty to the people, through advancing vital advocacies and sectoral concerns of our members,” he said.

Last Monday, the Nacionalista Party announced its alliance with PDP-Laban.

The partnership of Lakas-CMD and party-list bloc with Duterte's political party is seen to boost Alvarez's chances of winning the battle for speakership against incumbent House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., a vice chairman of the Liberal Party. —JST, GMA News