Leaders of the opposition in the House have agreed to block the administration from taking control of both the speakership and the minority leadership.

In a meeting hosted by South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino Custodio, opposition stalwarts proposed an amendment to the House rules by convincing the majority to drop the “anomalous scheme” where a losing candidate for the speaker automatically becomes the minority leader even if he/she is a member of the majority party.

To secure the minority leadership, the opposition leaders agreed to field a single candidate to contest the speakership.

In the 13th Congress, three opposition leaders contested the speakership. These were then Sorsogon Rep. now Senator-elect Francis Escudero, San Juan City Rep. Ronaldo Zamora and Negros Oriental Rep. Jerome Paras.

Escudero, getting the second highest vote for speaker, became the House minority leader.

Apart from Custodio and Zamora, those who attended the “brainstorming and strategy-making sessions,” were Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza, Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, Citizens’ Battle against Corruption Rep. Joel Villanueva, Sorsogon Rep.-elect Salvador Escudero III, Makati City Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Makati City Rep.-elect Abigail Binay.

The opposition in the 236-member House counted 34 as of yesterday. But more lawmakers were expected to join their ranks, among them Ilocos Norte Rep.-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., according to Villanueva.  

But they definitely did not want any member of Lakas and Kapatiran ng Mamamayang Pilipino, both allied with the administration, to “get control of the minority [leader position].”

“We will not allow this anomalous situation where Congress has a speaker and a minority leader both allied with the administration. This would deprive the opposition, representing interests contrary to those being pushed by Malacañang, of its voice in Congress,” according to newly elected Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a lawyer of deposed President Joseph Estrada.

For this reason, Rodriguez said his group would propose an amendment to Section 7 of the House rules, which states that, “the candidate for the speakership who gets the second highest vote automatically becomes the minority leader.”

“We would ask that this be changed to ‘allowing the minority to elect its own minority leader,’” Rodriguez told the Manila Standard Today.  

Ocampo shared Villanueva’s view that the opposition could force the issue but admitted they did not have the numbers to push for the amendment when the subject would be put to a vote before the plenary.

Ocampo also argued that the House rules can only be amended after the new leadership of the House has been elected. “So this amendment, even if approved, would not cure this anomaly.”

Another option being explored by the opposition was to send emissaries to Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. of Lakas and his challenger Cebu Rep.-elect Pablo Garcia of Kampi to convince the two top allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to give up the power to also control the minority.

“Speaker de Venecia already agreed he would not contest the minority leadership should he lose the race,” Villanueva said. “Besides, we know De Venecia has the numbers that would enable him to keep his post.”  

Rodriguez, for his part, said that once Kampi stalwart Garcia loses the speakership, majority of 63 Kampi members would choose to remain with the majority.

“Granting that Garcia would get the second highest vote, we believe that his colleagues in Kampi would gravitate toward the majority and he would be left with supporters even less than our number. Definitely, we would not give up the minority leadership to remain in control of Kampi,” Rodriguez said.

Tomorrow, the opposition leaders would meet again at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City to discuss who among them would be fielded to contest the speakership.

Nominated were Zamora, Plaza, Rodriguez and Villanueva. Should Villanueva be chosen as candidate for the speakership, he would be the first party-list representative to hold the powerful minority leader’s office.

Source: MANILA STANDARD TODAY by Christine Herrera