‘Minority claimants free to bring issue to SC’
The duly recognized House minority bloc led by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez yesterday welcomed the plan of Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo to elevate the leadership row to the Supreme Court (SC).
“They’re welcome (to go to the SC). The rules of the House are the rules of the House. There was no vacancy. Congressman Suarez was elected in June 2016 and he remains so until now,” Senior Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza said at a news briefing.
Atienza of Buhay partylist said a legislator doesn’t have to be a minority leader to provide check and balance to any administration – from the House leadership to the administration – of which President Duterte is chief executive.
“You don’t need to be a minority leader to do that. They can fiscalize and we will welcome them. I myself have been an independent congressman since 2013 to 2016 during the time of president Aquino,” Atienza, who had served as mayor of Manila for nine years, said.
Suarez advised the claimants to stop the ruckus and focus on the work ahead.
“We should be putting this minority issue behind us. This issue has already been settled by the plenary. We should move forward, there’s so much work to be done and not much time left,” he said.
Admitting his closeness with Speaker Gloria MacapagalArroyo, Suarez said this does not mean he can’t criticize what he perceives is wrong.
“Now, we may have a working relationship with the Speaker. We may have the lending ear of the Speaker. The right adjective is constructive and that has always been my line. When GMA said: let’s move on, it doesn’t mean toe the line. It means let’s work,” he said.
Rep. Orestes Salon of Agri party-list was offended with the way other groups have been condemning their camp by questioning their credibility.
“Please don’t prejudge the conduct of the minority. Hindi dapat self-righteous,” Salon said.
So far, only Quimbo’s group, composed of Liberal Party members, the sevenmember Makabayan bloc and the Magnificent 7, hinted at elevating the issue to the SC.
The other group, led by Rep. Eugene de Vera of ABS party-list, has yet to announce its plan.
De Vera, who used to belong to Suarez’s group prior to the House coup, took ousted speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and his protégé Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte under his wing.
‘Legitimate opposition’
Meawhile, Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. vowed to continue being a member of the “legitimate” minority group following the naming of Suarez, who voted and campaigned for Arroyo as Speaker, as leader of the House minority group.
Baguilat said he and the rest of the Magnificent 7, as representatives of the people in the House, would continue to abide by their duty to call out any wrongs that they will find.
He said he is supporting Quimbo’s and their Liberal Party allies’ plan to file a case questioning Suarez’s installation as minority leader.
“The House of Representatives is doing a ‘hara-kiri’ by retaining a fake minority. Choosing Quimbo over Suarez would have improved the people’s trust in the lawmaking ability of the lower house,” Baguilat said.
“Given Suarez’s close ties with Speaker Arroyo, there will be no real voice of the opposition and that does not augur well for deliberations in the House of Representatives, which needs a plurarity of opinions,” he added.
Having at least two sides in the House ensures the bills will be thoroughly vetted before becoming law.
“Having a true opposition in the House is a vital part of our democratic process. Sadly, that has been compromised because there is no real minority in the House, and there has not been one since 2016,” Baguilat said.
He welcomed Arroyo’s commitment to retain the budget of all lawmakers, which he said was a departure from the policy of former speaker Alvarez, who attempted to silence the opposition by removing the budget from their districts.
“This is a right thing to do because that budget is for the people in the congressional districts. That should not have anything to do with politics and the voice of the opposition should never be silenced,” he said.