Paolo Duterte, 8 others form Duterte Coalition; ask Cabinet members not to interfere on speakership issue
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Paolo Duterte, 8 others form Duterte Coalition; ask Cabinet members not to interfere on speakership issue
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte has formed a coalition in the House of Representatives to help the administration of his father, President Rodrigo Duterte.
This as the nine-member Duterte Coalition reminded the Cabinet members they should not meddle in the selection of the speaker following reports Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III allegedly urged the President to support the term-sharing scheme proposed by Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.
"President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly said he will not interfere in the race for the next Speaker of the House ? noting that all candidates are his allies," the Duterte Coalition said in a statement.
"It has come to our attention that certain Presidential Cabinet members have their bet for Speaker. Everyone should note that Cabinet members serve only on the basis of the trust and confidence of the President and should not participate in the selection of the Speaker," it added.
The coalition is composed of Paolo, Reps Isidro Ungab and Vincent Garcia of Davao City, Corazon Malanyaon of Davao Oriental, Manuel Zamora of Compostela Valley, Lorna Bautista of Davao Occidental, Claudine Bautista of Dumper party-list, and Sandro Gonzales and Anton Lopez, both of Marino party-list.
The nine are members of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) and Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (HTL). HNP is founded by presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio while Paolo came from HTL.
Dominguez reportedly denied urging Duterte on any matter since the start of his administration
"Let us draw the line to define the independence of the Executive and the Legislative branches of the government. As members of the House of Representatives, Hugpong ng Pagbabago and Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod hope to unite the House," the nine lawmakers said.
They said the Duterte Coalition is inviting everyone to join the group of lawmakers "who believe in positive change."
"A special call to be a partner is extended to Congressmen Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Lord Allan Jay Velasco," the group said.
Romualdez of Leyte, Cayetano, and Velasco of Marinduque are all eyeing the speakership.
Paolo earlier said he might join the speakership race, while HNP has endorsed Ungab as the next speaker.
"We shall not serve one interest, we will work for all Filipinos," said Duterte Coalition.
The Coalition described itself as "a strategic partnership of dynamic public servants who are committed to institute governance and development reforms that are necessary for the Philippines to secure its rightful place in the world stage of nations, particularly in the Southeast Asian region."
Meanwhile, Duterte-Carpio, in a statement, said HNP was not supporting the term-sharing for Speaker as it would be "counterproductive."
"It will slow down the last three years of the administration of President Duterte," Duterte-Carpio said.
Under the term-sharing situation, she said the House would "be racked with unseating the incumbent Speaker, dissent, and distrust."
"We do not know why the term-sharing influencers do not seem to care what will happen to the House. They just want to install a Speaker and do not think what comes after," she said.
The presidential daughter also said the issue on the speakership should be left to the members of the House and political parties, which include the HNP and HTL.
It could be recalled that Duterte himself acknowledged his daughter Sara was behind the ouster of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez during the 17th Congress.
Alvarez, who earned the ire of Duterte-Carpio, was removed as Speaker in July last year.
He was replaced by Duterte-Carpio-backed former President and then Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the day of the 2018 State of the Nation Address of Duterte. Celerina Monte/DMS
