Two minority blocs, minority leaders emerge in House

Two minority blocs have emerged in the House of Representatives following the election of a new Speaker, with each group headed by a lawmaker who claims he should be recognized as the rightful minority leader.

Eight lawmakers led by Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat are mulling on bringing the issue of choosing a minority leader to the Supreme Court, as they maintained they comprise the “authentic” and “genuine” minority in the House.

“Our legal team is studying the possibility of bringing the issue of minority leadership to the SC,” Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice said in a press conference Wednesday.

Baguilat, who placed second in the speakership race next to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez with eight votes, said his group will do the minority bloc’s role of fiscalizing the Duterte administration even if another group of lawmakers, led by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, has staked their claim as the rightful minority coalition.

“Itutuloy natin ang tungkulin bilang fiscalizer. We'll not reconcile ourselves as independent [lawmakers]. We'll do our mandate as the minority,” he said.

Joining Baguilat in the so-called “legitimate eight” group are Erice, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Capiz Rep. Emmanuel Billones, Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza, Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, Akbayan party-list Rep. Tomasito Villarin, and 1-Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.

Earlier in the day, Suarez, the third placer in the speakership contest, and 24 other lawmakers held a meeting to elect him as minority leader.

During the meeting, it was agreed that the 39 lawmakers who did not vote for Alvarez comprise the minority bloc.

Of this number, 20 abstained from voting. Alvarez’s abstention wasn’t counted because he won as Speaker.

Although the minority leader in previous Congresses was traditionally the candidate who got the second highest number of votes in the speakership race, Kabayan party-list Rep. Harry Roque said this has no basis in House rules.

“It is provided for in the Rules, specifically Rule 2 Section 8 that the members who vote for the winning candidate for Speaker shall constitute the Majority in the House and they shall elect from among themselves the Majority Leader. It also provides that the Minority Leader shall be elected by members of the Minority, so it contemplates, in fact ‘shall’ – it’s mandatory – it requires the holding of an election for Minority Floor Leader,” he said.

Lagman, however, said the election of Suarez was flawed because, among others, most of the lawmakers who voted for him abstained in the voting for Speaker. Rule 2, Section 8 of the House rules provides: “Members who choose not to align themselves with the Majority or the Minority shall be considered as independent Members of the House.”

The Albay lawmaker described the meeting of Suarez and his allies as the gathering of the “fake” minority bloc.

Referring to his group, Lagman said: “This is the authentic and genuine minority.”

Daza decried what he described to be the House’s transformation into a “House of trapos (traditional politicians)” as he accused the supermajority coalition led by Alvarez of controlling the leadership of the minority coalition.

“Ang ginagawa ng supermajority ay gawain ng mga trapo,” he said.

He likened Suarez’s installation as minority leader to a fixed fight in boxing because his allies supposedly insisted on electing him when he should have been considered a part of the majority coalition for voting for Alvarez.

In his defense, Suarez said he only voted for the Speaker because “tradition” dictated that a candidate for the position does not vote for himself.

But even if the Quezon lawmaker did not cast his vote for Alvarez, Baguilat questioned his opponent’s moral ascendancy to become minority leader because he supports some of the priority bills of the Duterte administration, including the reimposition of the death penalty and the grant of emergency powers to President Rodrigo Duterte to solve the traffic crisis.

“Mayroon bang moral ascendancy si Suarez na maging fiscalizer?” he asked.

Suarez earlier vowed that under his leadership, the minority bloc will be a “constructive” opposition. —KBK, GMA News