MANILA, Philippines — “We’re supposed to be honorables,” AAMBIS-OWA Partylist Rep. Sharon Garin said on Wednesday as she lamented how other lawmakers were dragged into the House of Representatives speakership fight between Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
Garin made the remark after she and two other lawmakers were stripped of their committee chairmanships in the House amid the speakership row.
“It seems like we are abandoning tradition. We are abandoning honor, we’re supposed to be honorables. We’re abandoning a lot of things by doing this—that we are involving all the congressmen, we are trying to involve them in a fight for speakership which is actually just between the two of them,” Garin, an ally of Velasco and former chair of the economic affairs committee, said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“It is insulting to each and every congressman and I hope that we all realize that na respeto lang sang. Pulitika, pulitika lang yan,” she added.
Garin said Cayetano is alienating the partylist bloc in the House with her removal as well as the move to replace 1-PACMAN Partylist Rep. Michael Romero, who also serves as the president of the partylist bloc in the lower chamber, as deputy speaker.
Also removed from their committee chairmanship posts were Quezon 4th District Rep. Helen Tan and Valenzuela City 2nd District Rep. Eric Martinez who headed the committee on health and the committee on youth and sports development, respectively.
“Also Helen Tan is of the NPC (Nationalist People’s Coalition), she was also removed, I don’t know why because she hasn’t been active in this whole circus. But the mere fact that she was from NPC, maybe that brought it out,” Garin said.
“Eric Martinez is one of the originals. Probably the only one of the two original PDP which is the party of the President. Tatlong partido yan which is obviously not very supportive of him and this was very significant. Very discouraging ito sa mga party leaders as well as the party members,” she added.
In the same interview, Garin said the fight is not yet over for Velasco.
“It’s not over. I personally think this is not over. Many things will still happen in the near and far future and I would advise Congressman Velasco to continue on because this is what the President wanted,” Garin said.
The lawmaker, who accompanied Velasco when Duterte met with him and Cayetano to settle the speakership dispute, said that the President was “clear” in his pronouncement to follow through with the term-sharing agreement.
“If that was the agreement and the suggestion from the President that we have received, then I would defend the President as he is the highest executive that we have and he is the leader of the PDP which is the head party right now,” Garin said.
“With due respect to all the supporters ng iba at ibang speakerables, I am supporting who the President would rather have as Speaker and for me that was clear,” Garin said.
Under the term-sharing agreement, Cayetano would serve as House Speaker in the first 15 months of the 18th Congress while Velasco would succeed to serve for the remaining 21 months.