The Arroyo-led House of Representatives’ majority coalition will reject any bid to cancel the May 2019 mid-term elections, a party-list lawmaker said on Thursday.
1-Pacman Partylist Rep. Mikee Romero, an Arroyo ally, said political parties and Party-list organizations who support Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo have joined forces to ensure the mid-term elections will be held as scheduled.
“Even Speaker GMA [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] will not support it [no election]. This will be her last term [as congresswoman],” Romero said.
Romero said the House majority bloc’s position to reject a “no-el” scenario has solidified Party-list lawmakers and several key leaders of majority parties in the coalition that met with the President last Wednesday.
But Romero said the same group of political parties have remained committed to support the Duterte administration’s bid for Charter change towards the shift to the federal system of government.
“We will push for the President’s Charter change initiative to effect federalism. But the no-elections, we will definitely reject it,” said Romero, vice chairman of the House Committee on Sports and Youth Development and on East Asian Growth Area.
“We assure you, Congress assures the public there will be elections in May 2019,” Romero said.
Romero said the no-election scenario being floated by then-Speaker Alvarez was one of the principal reasons that led to his downfall.
Romero recalled that cracks within Alvarez’s “super-majority” widened when Alvarez pushed for the cancellation of the 2019 polls so that Congress will be able to focus on federalism.