The number of congressmen defending the appointment of Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos as senior deputy majority leader has increased.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte asserted the selection of Marcos as senior deputy majority leader was a unanimous decision of the supermajority coalition in the House.
The leadership’s pick for the young Marcos underscored his intimate knowledge of the legislative process and familiarity with practically all of the reelected congresspersons on their second or third terms in office.
“Sandro (Rep. Marcos)’s excellent grasp of how the legislative process works in the Philippine Legislature and his striking familiarity with practically all lawmakers in the House who have been here since the past two Congresses easily obscure his status as a first-time legislator, and has earned him the right to his current post with the unanimous support of the super majority coalition,” Villafuerte said.
“I myself could vouch for these two attributes that are likely to make Sandro excel as a senior deputy majority leader in the 19th Congress,” said the Bicolano solon, who had worked closely with Marcos and observed his skills and dedication to his job at the time when Villafuerte was deputy speaker for finance.
Earlier, PBA party-list group Rep. Margarita Nograles said the young Marcos is qualified for the post even though he was a first termer because he is “equipped with the knowledge of the House Rules and certain Rules of Procedure, more than most if not all neophytes.”
Villafuerte said that probably unknown to those not currently or previously connected with the House is that Marcos was on the legislative staff of Speaker Martin Romualdez when Romualdez was the majority leader in the previous Congress.
He said that Marcos had taken his job as Romualdez’s protege and key legislative aide seriously in the past legislative session to the point that he had tirelessly backstopped the then-majority leader.
He liaised with senior legislators and bill proponents in the passage of major laws such as the annual General Appropriations Acts (GAAs) and the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.
“Speaker Martin (Romualdez), who was then-majority leader, assigned Sandro to work with me in the sponsorship of the annual budgets of certain government offices and in the passage of Bayanihan 1 & 2, of which I was the lead author in the House,” he said.
“We had burned the midnight oil together on countless occasions on these major pieces of legislation and that’s where I had observed firsthand his dedication to his job and his evolving keen grasp of the legislative process. My staff can attest to Sandro’s dedication to his job as he had worked with us on then-pending measures at my Batasan office often until the wee hours.”
“Having worked with him for three years as Speaker Martin’s protege prior to Sandro’s election as a congressman, I can honestly say that Sandro is even more knowledgeable about how the Congress works than some of our peers on their second or third terms—and is certainly qualified to be our senior deputy majority leader,” he said.
He said Marcos deserves credit for helping work on major pieces of legislation that were passed when Speaker Romualdez was still the majority leader.
Villafuerte said he had also realized when they were working together that Marcos had similar close relations with other House members when Romualdez was majority leader, “and this familiarity with legislators who have been reelected in the 19th Congress will come in handy in his current position as senior deputy floor leader and vice chairman of the House committee on rules.