House in the showdown this week on the minority



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MANILA, Philippines – A confrontation is expected this week in the House of Representatives on which the group should be recognized as the minority and who would be its leader following the installation of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as President.

Romero Quimbo, chosen as a minority leader by the 12 lawmakers who abstained in last week's vote to oust former President Pantaleon Alvarez and install Arroyo, expects the new leadership recognize them on the basis of the rules of the House

it will be the President's appeal. Whatever we do, whatever the president, he wins, "he said on" The Chiefs "before the weekend.

Three other groups also claim the minority bloc – including the minority leader Danilo Suarez is a loyal ally of Arroyo, the Alvarez group and former House Majority leader Rodolfo Fariñas, and the Makabayan bloc led by Representative Antonio Tinio of the party list Alliance of Concerned Teachers [19659002] belonging to the opposition faction in the House which includes Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, titular head of the so-called Magnificent 7. The Quimbo-Lagman merger is allied with the vice president Leni Robredo and the l 39; Former President Benigno Aquino III who sits as President of Rolando Andaya Jr., former Secretary of Arroyo's budget, who chaired the sessions, said he would have wanted to resolve the stalemate the week last, but He added that Fariñas had been

Lagman, also an ally of Arroyo who protected him in four dismissal complaints, argued that Suarez can no longer claim to be the leader of the House opposition on the basis he initiated and, worse, even voted for Arroyo as President. reckless for Suarez and his group to insist that in the recent upheaval of the House there has been a simple change in the position of the President and the rest of the major positions, including that of the minority leader, remain the even "any change in the direction of a legislature, such as the House, necessarily entails changes in the composition of the majority and minority in the House."

"This is inevitable because This is actually moving alliances and loyalties.The change in the presidency did not occur in a vacuum, "Lagman said in a statement.

Quimbo, who invited The Chiefs with representatives of the ACT Tinio party list and Gary Alejano of Magdalo, said of his colleagues who abstained from voting in the election of Arroyo Monday as new president and three others who voted against, now constitute the new minority.

He threatened to go to court if the majority headed by Arroyo decides to keep Quezon Rep. Suarez as Minority Leader

It would be "comical" given that Suarez is a close friend of Arroyo, he added.

While Quimbo and most members of Congress were part of the majority under Alvarez, opposition. Makabayan initially collaborated with the Duterte administration but later became one of his critics. His seven legislators deserted the majority and became independent

Tinio and Alejano declared that they would not join a minority that includes Alvarez and other Duterte allies and who will not criticize the policies of the 39; administration.

They said that they want the minority to be true opposition to Duterte. Alejano filed the first case of impeachment against the president who was rejected by his allies.

The Suarez group praised Quimbo's threat of going to court on the issue of minority leadership.

"They should do it, but from now on, there is a Supreme Court decision that says we are the minority," said Alfredo Garbin MP Jr. Ako Bicol, referring to the decision on the petition of the Lagman group questioning the election of Suarez in 2016.

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza, a top minority leader, said Quimbo and the others should simply join the minority.

"But they can not join us and say that they are the leader," he said. 19659002] With all these arguments, Andaya gave assurances that the majority of the House would not intervene in the quarrel between the legislators of the minority bloc, claiming that opposition lawmakers should settle the question between them.

Quimbo also challenged Arroyo Time, the most virulent critics hurt.

He said, "The House is facing a fork on the road: will the President (GMA) be the leader that former President Pantaleon Alvarez was? Or will she use this opportunity to show real leadership? feel-recognize and engender a true minority.I think it's the new president who faces the biggest challenge.Is she going to allow the same kind of leadership? things that she has always been accused of? "

The legislator, who also served as director of the Pag-IBIG Fund when Arroyo was the current president, revealed that they were experiencing a change in the direction of the House the day before the day President Duterte Third Report on the State of the Nation

He insists that he asks them to support Arroyo as President.

"We are (members of the LP except four who voted for Arroyo) 100% for the change of leadership. Yes, absolutely we know it like everyone else. But no, I said no, we do not support GMA's. ", he told the Chiefs." It's only internally that we finally have the chance to be together under one umbrella. "

One of the pillars of the LP who ally with Alvarez and maintained the alliance with Arroyo is the former president and now Republican of Quezon Feliciano Belmonte Jr For his part, Alejano said that their group (Magnificent 7) would certainly not join Alvarez to form a minority group – a position also supported by Tinio.

"We are the real and true opposition," Tinio said.

Meanwhile, Quimbo also tells the Chiefs that Alvarez wanted to dismiss Robredo last year

"It's a blatant lie!" Alvarez said in a text message using the capital letter L when he was joined to comment

. In 2017, the late Loyalist lawyer Marcos, Oliver Lozano, filed a lawsuit against Robredo for his criticism. of the bloody war of President Duterte against drugs. He quit his petition with Alvarez's office

A few days later, before one of his allies in the House could approve the complaint, Duterte said in an interview: "Guys, put on foot. Stop him. "Without an endorser, an impeachment petition is considered a waste.

Some Alvarez loyalists in the House told reporters that they could muster the votes needed to attack Robredo if Duterte gave them the signal.

The Quimbo interviewers also mentioned the possibility that allies of the administration could still act against the vice president by a motion for indictment or a request for quo warranto, similar to the one against Maria Lourdes Sereno, to lead a unified political opposition

To protect Robredo, Quimbo said that he and most of his LP colleagues chose to join the majority led by the deposed president.

"She could easily be charged with just 99 votes. Regarding LP, we have to make sure that she stays in power, "he said.

But the biggest threat to the vice president, he said, remains the electoral protest of deputy presidential candidate defeated Ferdinand Marcos Jr. – With Jess Diaz

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