Party-list coalition: Gonzales will be ‘steady and reliable ally’ of Romualdez

Aurelio “Dong” D. Gonzales Jr. Photo from his Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The Partylist Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI) on Friday lauded the election of Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. as the new Senior Deputy Speaker (SDS) of the House of Representatives, saying that he will be a “steady and reliable ally” to Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The PCFI, which has 60 seats in the House, welcomed Gonzales’ election, saying that he had assisted Romualdez in legislating priority bills.

“I firmly believe that SDS Gonzales will remain a steady and reliable ally of Speaker Romualdez in delivering the commitments made by the House in pursuit of the 8-Point Socio-Economic Agenda of the Marcos administration,” Ako Bicol and PCFI President Rep. Zaldy Co said in a statement.

READ: Party-list coalition gets 60 House seats

The PCFI also said it would remain “a staunch partner” to the supermajority in the House.

In separate statements on Friday, the National Unity Party (NUP) and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) also welcomed Gonzales.

“We are optimistic that SDS Gonzales is the best person to help Speaker Romualdez in galvanizing the multi-partisan support for the country’s recovery from the pandemic and overall economic growth and development,” Deputy Speaker Rep. Kristine Singson from the second district of Ilocos Sur said.

NUP Chair Ronaldo Puno said the party vows to continue working with Romualdez amid the change of speakers from former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“We vow to continue working in close partnership with Speaker Romualdez, whose leadership and work ethic moved the legislative mill round the clock, producing an unprecedented number of priority bills passed on third and final reading in less than a year in office,” said Puno.

Gonzales replaces Macapagal-Arroyo, who was unceremoniously removed from being an SDS. Arroyo said that her actions were misconstrued as coup attempts.

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JPV/abc