Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel (Photo from his Facebook account)
MANILA, Philippines — A neophyte lawmaker on Wednesday hit the election of presidential son Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos III as a high-ranking House leader, saying he was obviously elected because of his political pedigree.
During Tuesday’s session, the House majority bloc elected Sandro Marcos as senior deputy majority leader despite being a rookie lawmaker, breaking the tradition of giving senior members top positions in the House leadership.
“Hindi naman madedeny ng kahit sino man na factor na anak siya ng nasa Malacañang para makuha niya ang posisyon bilang ‘senior’ leader sa House of Representatives,” Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel said in a statement.
(No one can deny that being the son of the President was a factor in him getting the position.)
Sandro Marcos is in his first term as a lawmaker after winning as the representative of the Ilocos Norte district in the 2022 elections.
Before this, he was an understudy of his uncle, Speaker Martin Romualdez, having worked as a staff member of the then majority leader’s office during the 18th Congress.
“Ngayong nasa ganoong posisyon na siya, masasandal siya sa pader kung ano ang gagawin niya bilang kongresista habang walang nabanggit na plano sa SONA ang kanyang ama hinggil sa mga isyu na mahalaga para sa kabataan, kagaya ng agarang solusyon sa hindi abot-kayang presyo ng mga bilihin at kakulangan ng pondo para sa ligtas na pagbubukas ng mga paaralan sa Nobyembre,” Manuel said.
(In that position, he doesn’t know what to do as a congressman, and his father didn’t mention the high prices of goods and the lack of funding for face-to-face classes in November.)
Another neophyte lawmaker, PBA Rep. Margarita “Migs” Nograles, took up the cudgels for the presidential son, saying he is qualified for the position despite being a rookie congressman.
“I beg to differ on the claim of Rep. Manuel that Rep. Sandro Marcos only got his position because of his last name and because he is the son of the President. Rep. Marcos has worked with former Majority Leader, now Speaker Martin Romualdez, and is equipped with the knowledge of the House rules and certain rules of procedure, more than most if not all neophytes,” she said in a separate statement.
The lawmaker, a daughter of the late former speaker Prospero Nograles, reminded Manuel, a member of the minority bloc, that Marcos “was elected, overwhelmingly and unanimously, by the majority as their senior deputy majority leader.”
She said it is clear that the majority has already “spoken and has full faith, trust, and confidence that Rep. Marcos will do well in his position because he is qualified for that position with both his educational and work background.”