House rallies behind Speaker; bomb alert raised

THE GREAT majority of the House of Representatives rallied behind Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Monday, countering a senator’s allegation of his involvement in a questionable Charter change (“Cha-cha”) signature campaign.

As of 6:03 p.m. of Feb. 5 at the plenary session, 287 congressmen had signed the adoption of House Resolution No. 1562 which supports and upholds the “integrity and honor” of Romualdez and the chamber he leads against “intense assault from the Senate.”

The political storm dividing Congress heightened when presidential sister and Senator Maria Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos said last week that Mr. Romualdez, her first cousin, is behind the distribution of P20 million cash to gather enough signatures for a people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Noel Oñate, lead convenor of the People’s Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (PIRMA), told a Senate hearing that they coordinated with the Speaker in getting the 3% signature requirement per district to allow Charter change.

In his sponsorship speech, House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio D. Gonzales said the Lower Chamber is not involved in the signature campaign as it was initiated by a private organization.

The resolution, a response to the Senate’s accusatory stance, condemned the Upper Chamber’s Jan. 30 hearing as an attempt to discredit Mr. Romualdez and the House.

In return, Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri clarified that his statements focused on the institution rather than individual members.