Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice criticized the House majority bloc after Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez kept his position as minority leader despite voting for the Speaker.
“Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa kasaysayan ng mga Demokratikong parliamento sa buong mundo, only in the Philippines, na ang naghalal ng minority leader ay ang majority (For the first time in the history of democratic parliament all over the word, we elected a minority leader from the majority. It happened only in the Philippines),” Erice said Tuesday in an interview over DZMM.
“Ninanakawan ng mayorya ang mga mamamayan na magkaroon ng check and balance sa hinalal nilang minority leader (With the election of the minority leader, the majority bloc is stealing our right to have check and balance at the lower House),” he added.
The Liberal Party (LP) lawmaker is reacting to the election of Suarez via viva voce voting based on Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr.’s motion.
READ: Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez is still House minority leader
Aside from Suarez, Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Romero Quimbo and ABS Rep. Eugene De Vera had also vied for the minority leadership post.
Several lawmakers objected to the chamber’s recognition of Suarez as the minority leader.
According to House rules, “members who vote for the winning candidate for Speaker shall constitute the Majority in the House.”
Suarez voted for Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the controversial election that delayed President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address last July 23.
The LP lawmakers have reiterated that they are the “real” minority at the House of Representatives, stressing that the process that allowed Arroyo to be elected as the new Speaker were the same rules that would determine the members of the minority bloc. /ee
READ: LP official: Suarez as minority leader destroys checks and balances at lower House