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Friday, March 29, 2024

Ruling party notches key house posts

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The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan is confident it can push the legislative agenda of the Duterte administration for the next three years with the allocation of key positions and chairmanships to its party members in the House of Representatives, a party stalwart said Saturday.

Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, the party leader in the House, made the statement after he and Senator Emmanuel Pacquaio were named as the party heads in their respective chambers of Congress.

READ: PDP-Laban plugs hole in member defections

“The PDP-Laban and all of its [members-] lawmakers in the House of Representatives are ready to buckle down to work and tackle issues and legislation that can change our nation,” Velasco said.

Velasco said the appointment of several PDP-Laban members in several key positions at the Lower House would enable the swift passage of President Rodrigo Duterte’s legislative agenda.

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“Under the 18th Congress, six of our party mates have been named deputy speakers, three deputy majority leaders, one assistant majority leader, and one assistant minority leader,” Velasco said. 

He added PDP-Laban also received 19 chairmanships of key committees and 58 vice chairmanships. “Our party members have also been appointed to head the House delegation to the Commission on Appointments and the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal,” he said.

There are 19 PDP-Laban members who secured key posts in the House, including Velasco, as chairman of the House committee on energy.  

Others  are Reps. Joey Salceda of Albay,  chairman of the House committee on ways and means; Abraham Tolentino, accounts; Anne Hofer of Zamboanga Sibugay,  foreign affairs; Ria Vergara of Nueva Ecija, ethics; Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, Mindanao Affairs; Eric Martinez of Valenzuela City, youth and sports.development;  Gloria Labadlabad of Zamboanga del Norte, ecology; Sandra Eriguel of La Union, social services; 

Eric Olivarez of Parañaque City, government enterprises and privatization; Divina Yu of Zamboanga del Sur, interparliamentary relations and diplomacy; Bong Suntay of Quezon City, human rights, Junie Cua of Quirino, banks and financial intermediaries; Lucy Torres-Gomez of Leyte, disaster management; Lucille Nava of Guimaras, population and family relations;  

Dale Malapitan of Caloocan City, poverty alleviation; Elisa Kho of Masbate, rural development; Rogel Pacquiao of Sarangani,  special committee on east Asean growth area; and Geraldine Roman of Bataan, veterans affairs.

Velasco thanked the House leadership “for naming members of PDP-Laban to various committees and important posts in the bigger chamber, cognizant of the role of our political party as an important ally in accomplishing the Duterte administration’s plans and programs through legislation.”

Velasco also thanked PDP-Laban members for their confidence and support during his bid for the speakership and vowed to do his best to lead other members of the party in the House.

“I am humbled and honored by the decision of the leadership of PDP-Laban to appoint yours truly as party head in the House of Representatives,” Velasco said.

He added:  “This fresh step by the party leadership is a welcome development, as this will further strengthen unity and camaraderie among PDP-Laban members.”

Velasco said being the party head in the House,  “[we] will ensure that we move in one direction in taking a party stand on vital issues, but more importantly in supporting the administration’s legislative agenda to improve the lives of the Filipino people.

READ: Lakas, 2 ex-presidents’ party, gains more members

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