Status quo remains unless GMA steps in
MANILA — Nothing will change at t he House of Representatives unless Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will act on petitions of this claiming to be the minority bloc in the chamber, Rep. Dani lo Suarez (Quezon) said.
Suarez has been insisting on retaining his post as minority leader despite claims of the groups of Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte) and Rep. Romero Quimbo (Marikina City) to be the "real" minority bloc.
"All they have to do, and I think they have done it, is present their position to the speaker and let the speaker act on it and come up with a firm resolve on whether their petition is correct or wrong. Unless that is acted upon, status quo prevails," Suarez told ANC's Headstart.
Acknowledging that he was among those who voted for Arroyo, Suarez insisted that only the speaker post was declared vacant and not the majority and minority leader positions.
"For preparing a manifesto, I was first in the signature list but what was contended is just the position of the speaker only and the rest is status quo," Suarez said.
Citing Section 13 of the Rules of the House of Representatives, Suarez said that a quorum is necessary to declare any position vacant.
The provision states that, "Except for the position of Speaker, any position may be declared vacant by a majority vote if the Members present, there being a quorum. The position of Speaker may only be declared vacant through nominal voting by a majority vote of all the Members."
However, Section 8 states that, "Members who vote for the winning candidate for Speaker shall constitute the Majority in the House and they shall elect from among themselves the Majority Leader. The Majority Leader may be changed, at any time, by a majority vote of all Majority Members. The Minority Leader shall be elected by the Members of the Minority and can be changed, at any time, by a majority vote of all the Minority Members." —