Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas is no longer the majority leader as far as the Arroyo-led House leadership is concerned, a lawmaker said Thursday.
Camariñes Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya said Fariñas was effectively removed as the majority leader of the House with the election of the former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the new Speaker and the ouster of Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, who appointed Fariñas.
“He is no longer the majority leader and could no longer perform functions of a majority leader because we have a new interim majority leader exercising the function,” Andaya said, referring to Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro.
Castro was appointed majority leader following the election of Arroyo Monday.
On Wednesday session, Fariñas questioned the legitimacy of Arroyo’s election, saying that the resolution electing her had not gone through him, as he was the chairman of the committee on rules.
But Andaya countered that the resolution had gone through the proper process, and had gone through Castro, the new majority leader.
He added that they would formalize Castro’s appointment by Monday as they settled a row over who would be the new minority bloc.
“We could have done it yesterday [Wednesday] but since the issue on who will lead the new minority bloc was coming up… we decided to hold that in abeyance and proceed on Monday,” Andaya said.
Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Antonino, the lawmaker motioned to declare the position of Speaker vacant during the evening plenary session Monday, insisted there was no railroading in the approval of the House resolution electing Arroyo.
Antonino said the election of Arroyo, voted by 188 lawmakers as Speaker, was done in the presence of a great majority of House members, with a total of 238 attending the Monday night session.
She added that the matter should no longer be an issue since Alvarez himself conceded defeat to Arroyo.
Andaya said that until the minority question is settled, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez—who voted for Arroyo—would still be recognized as the minority leader.
But House rules provide that those who did not vote for a winning candidate for the speakership would automatically be part of the minority.
Suarez on Thursday attacked senators who feared that Arroyo’s ascent in the House could make her prime minister in a federal government.
“Many senators have started their scenario building which is unfair because nothing is final yet on Charte change,” Suarez said, referring to allegations that Arroyo might aim for the prime minister post at the end of her House tenure in 2019.
Meanwhile, Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo doubted that Congress had time to tackle the proposed shift to a federal form of government.
He also said speculation that Arroyo was being groomed by her supporters to be the country’s first prime minister were baseless.
“I have heard about it. But based on what I saw in the draft constitution, there is no such thing as a prime minister. Although the draft is not yet final,” he said.
