Pulong warns vs House coup

There is no sure Speaker yet, why are we now concerned about the committees? There is an election on 22 July and that is where I am more interested, to know who will win

Despite his father’s open endorsement of a term-sharing deal, Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte remains certain the speakership race is not yet over and revealed that one of the contenders for the post is plotting a House coup on 22 July when Congress opens.

If the warning of Rep. Duterte proves true, it would be the second consecutive opening of Congress that would be marked by an upheaval at the House.

In the opening of the 17th Congress in 23 July last year, then Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was unceremoniously bumped off by Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a chaotic takeover that happened before President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address.

In a text message yesterday, Rep. Duterte refused to name a

House committee that he wanted to take and instead said he is more interested in the election for the 18th Congress Speaker.

“There is no sure Speaker yet, why are we now concerned about the committees? There is an election on 22 July and that is where I am more interested, to know who will win,” Paolo said in a text message.

He added the race is far from over as he revealed that there is a plan for an upheaval which might disregard President Rodrigo Duterte’s endorsement for Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.

“There are rumors going around that one of the House leadership bets plan to launch a coup d’etat on the day. It appears that the battle among the three (contenders) and their backers is not over yet,” Paolo added.

Asking for Mayor Duterte’s comment on the term-sharing endorsed by her father, Sara said that her party has yet to deliberate on it.

“No comment. The group I am with have not met. Many are in Manila, some (are) abroad, some (are) busy with work. We still have to meet,” Sara told the Daily Tribune last Wednesday.

Sara voices HnP stand

The president’s daughter said she never expressed her personal opinion regarding the matter and that she only expressed her opinion on the term-sharing scheme last week as chairman of the regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP).

“?On a personal level, I’ve never expressed an opinion about term sharing because I am not a congressman. HnP though as a political party in the House has a position,” she added.

Last week, the HnP and the Paolo Duterte-led local party, Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod formed the Duterte Coalition and fielded Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab as their official candidate for the race.

Since their father’s announcement, the Duterte Coalition has withheld any expression of support for Cayetano’s and Velasco’s term-sharing.

There are rumors going around that one of the House leadership bets plans to launch a coup

d’etat.

No comment. The group I am with have not met. Many are in Manila.

On Wednesday night, Cayetano hosted a caucus with endorsed Majority Leader Martin Romualdez with several congressmen in Taguig City. Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) members Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, Pampanga Rep. Dong Gonzales, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Doy Leachon are present in the meeting.