Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo FILE PHOTO
Marikina 2nd District Rep. Romero Quimbo said their group would question before the Supreme Court (SC) the retention of Quezon 3rd District Rep. Danilo Suarez as the House minority leader.
The minority leadership row has come to an end on Tuesday after the House conducted a viva voce voting upon the motion of Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr., an ally of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“Malungkot ‘yung araw, bagamat nakikita mo na paparating ‘yun, pero iba pala pag dumarating na mismo,” Quimbo told reporters in a briefing after their session.
READ: Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez is still House minority leader
The Liberal Party lawmaker was the elected minority leader by the coalition of lawmakers from the LP, Makabayan bloc, Magnificent 7 and other independent lawmakers.
Quimbo said they were hoping that their colleagues would follow the House rules, specifically Rule II Section 8 of the House rules, which states that “Members who vote for the winning candidate for Speaker shall constitute the Majority in the House,” as well as the SC decision G.R. No. 227757 (Alvarez vs. Baguilat), which provides that the Minority is to be composed of those who vote for anyone other than the winning candidate and those who abstained from voting.
Quimbo said the retention of Suarez as minority leader was contradictory to the SC ruling on July 25, 2017, because Suarez voted for Arroyo. He also said the move of the majority bloc to intervene in the minority leadership row runs counter to the principle of checks and balances in the lower chamber.
Quimbo said they expect to file the complaint before SC in the next few days.
Former Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas had already expressed their plan to question the validity of Suarez’s retention as minority leader before the high court.
Fariñas said it was ABS Rep. Eugene De Vera who should be the minority leader./ac
READ: Suarez: I’m minority leader; Fariñas plans SC challenge