At least six members of the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives have signed the resolution to override President Benigno S. Aquino III’s veto of the SSS pension hike, bringing to 65 the number of lawmakers supporting efforts spearheaded by Rep. Neri Colmenares to gather the 192 signatures required to defeat the presidential veto.
The latest signatory from the LP is Marikina 1st district Rep. Marcelino Teodoro, who joins five other LP representatives who initially signed the resolution: Pedro Acharon Jr., Rosemarie Arenas, Rodolfo Biazon, Manuel Iway, and Roman Romulo.
Acharon, Biazon, Iway, Romulo, and Teodoro were among the 211 representatives who originally voted in favor of the pension hike on June 9, 2015.
LP vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo, who also voted for the hike last June, was not among the LP solons who crossed party lines to support the Colmenares resolution.
House records also show that she was absent when senior citizens trooped to the Batasan Pambansa last week for the House’s last session to show support for veto override resolution.
In a Facebook post, activist Mae Paner, better known as Juana Change, minced no words as she slammed LP solons for having time to campaign but no time to listen to senior citizens who trooped to Congress last week to push for the SSS pension hike.
“May time kayo mangampanya pero ni wala kayong binigay na karampot na oras para pakinggan ang hinaing ng mga seniors? Ito ba ang Tuwid na Daan? (You have time to campaign but you can’t even spare a bit of your time to hear the concerns of our senior citizens? Is this the straight path?)”
Paner also scored LP members who reversed their positions on the pension hike after initially supporting the measure.
Addressing LP stalwart Rep. Jorge “Bolet” Banal of the 3rd district of Quezon City, Paner said “nabago lang naman pagtingin nyo nung nag veto na si PNoy eh. [Your views only changed when PNoy vetoed the bill.]”
Despite voting for the SSS pension hike earlier, LP members in both the Senate and the Lower House have taken turns defending Aquino’s decision to veto the bill. Among LP reps who initially voted for the measure are its spokespersons, Rep. Edgar Erice, Rep. Barry Gutierrez, and Rep. Miro Quimbo.
Senate President Franklin Drilon, after announcing in December that the hike would be an early Christmas gift for retirees, later said that he respected the decision of the President. Even LP presidential bet Mar Roxas has also come out in defense of the veto, stressing that Aquino’s veto “is the right decision.”
If the override initiative in the House succeeds, the Senate will also have to vote on the measure. A total of 16 senators, or two-thirds of the Senate, will make the vetoed SSS pension bill into a law.