The Majority and Minority: United as one

The House of Representatives has 311 members from districts across the Philippines and party-list groups for its 19th Congress. These lawmakers vied for a seat in public service to ably represent their respective districts or sectors. But with several voices in the mix, the challenge lies in bringing forth the voices they represent.

Here’s where the Majority and Minority blocs come in. Both groups, composed of different lawmakers, elect a leader to speak on their behalf during Congress sessions. They enable, ideally, a smoother process within the House of Representatives to best highlight the concerns of almost every member.

Meeting the majority bloc and its leader

Among the 311 lawmakers in the 19th Congress, 268 are members of the Majority Bloc. These include members of the following political parties: Lakas–CMD (66), PDP–Laban (41), Nacionalista (37), NUP (36), NPC (34), Party-list Coalition (28), Liberal (5), local parties (8), PFP (2), PRP (2), Aksyon (1), CDP (1), LDP (1), PDDS (1), and UNA (1), as well as independent representatives (5).

Together, they elected Rep. Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe as their Majority Leader. The decision was arrived after a caucus of the bloc. Aside from being the spokesman for the Majority bloc, Dalipe also directs the deliberations on the floor.

In the present setup of the House, the Majority Leader is concurrently the chairman of the Committee on Rules. He deals with matters relevant to the Rules of the House, particularly the calendar of bills, preparing the Order of Business, and the Calendar of Business.

Dalipe, 48, ran and won his third term in Congress under the Lakas-CMD party led by Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio. He previously served as a City Councilor in Zamboanga from 1998 to 2007 and Vice Mayor from 2007 to 2010. He later ran for a position in Congress in 2016.

He has currently principally authored 35 bills.

As the incumbent House Majority Leader, Dalipe promises that “…under the leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, various concerns of our distinguished House Members are heard and provided with answers without delay.”

In the absence of Dalipe, Ilocos Norte First District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Araneta Marcos will assume the position as he is the Majority bloc’s Senior Deputy Majority Leader. Should the young Marcos be unavailable to take on the responsibility, 16 Deputy Majority Leaders are ready to take the lead.

Since the House and its groups cannot be left unattended, some of the remaining 27 members of the Majority bloc have also been designated as Assistant Majority Leaders.

The Minority bloc and its leader

Balancing out those in the majority is the Minority bloc, composed of 22 members from the Party-list Coalition (9), Makabayan (3), NUP (2), Nacionalista (2), Liberal (3), Reporma (2), and other local parties (1). They elected Rep. Marcelino C. Libanan as their leader.

The Minority Leader is the acknowledged spokesman of the bloc in the House. He is also an ex-officio member of all standing House Committees.

Libanan was a former Immigration Commissioner during the term of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Libanan was also a former lawmaker of Eastern Samar.

In his privileged speech in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), Libanan said the House Minority will be a “deliberative partner, constructive critic, and responsible protagonist.”

Libanan is no stranger to being a member of Congress. He served three terms from 1998 to 2007, specifically the 11th, 12th, and 13th Congresses. He also once served as chairman of the House Committee on Justice.

So far, he has authored 27 bills for the 19th Congress and co-authored two more. And as a member of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programs (4Ps) party-list, he has called for interventions to help empower Filipino families through education and livelihood opportunities.

Should Libanan be unavailable or incapacitated to fulfill his role, Rep. Paul Daza will assume his position as Senior Deputy Minority Leader. There are currently seven Deputy Minority Leaders and eight Assistant Minority Leaders.