Join the race

• Pulong signifies interest to become Speaker

AFTER initially expressing his disinterest in joining the race for the leadership at the Lower House, Presidential son and Davao City First District Rep. Paolo Duterte changed his stand as he announced he might vie for the spot.

“Moapil na ko pagkaspeaker ( I will join the Speakership race),” Duterte said yesterday at the House of Representatives.

Despite having previously rejected the idea of

his running for the position, Duterte said the shift of his stand is because of the talks of ‘term sharing’ being obsessively pushed by Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, one of the aspirants.

“Pareho lang kaming binoto ng mga tao ah. Kung term sharing, term sharing na kaming lahat (We’re equal, we are all voted by the people. If it’s term sharing, then we all share),” he said.

He also said he might be able to help unite the divisions in the House.

Based on his proposal, the house post must be shared by representatives from Mindanao, Visayas, Luzon, and the partylist groups.

“I will ask the Visayas bloc to elect their speaker for their term share, and so with the Mindanao bloc and the partylist coalition,” Duterte said.

Just over the weekend, Duterte urged those who are eyeing to become the House Speaker to stop dragging his name from the speakership issues.

Meanwhile, in the past few months President Rodrigo Duterte urged Paolo that if he runs for speakership, he should let the former know because he said he will resign.

Duterte, running under the local ruling party Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod under the Hugpong ng Pagbabago member in the last elections, is the third from Davao region to signify interest in the post. Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez ( PDP- Laban) of Davao del Norte’s first district signified to reclaim the post he was once ousted. Davao’s Isagani Zarate, a representative of Bayan Muna partylist, was pushed by the Makalayan bloc.

Other aspirants include Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco, Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.