Normally in politics everybody wants to be part of the majority. Strange as it may seem, there is a mad scramble to be House Minority Leader with three groups claiming to be the minority bloc. Marikina Representative Miro Quimbo and Eugene de Vera claim they are now the Minority Leader after the ouster of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Buhay Party List Rep. Lito Atienza, one of the original members of the minority and an ally of Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, invokes House rules he said must be the guide post in the muddled Minority mess.
“The majority of congressmen only voted to replace Speaker Alvarez with former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Therefore, the other positions were not vacant, “ said Atienza who was the mover in gathering votes for GMA during behind-the-scenes State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte last July 23.
Suarez remains Minority Leader even if he voted for Arroyo, according to Atienza.
“Opposing House bills that are a burden to the people instead of benefiting them is not the sole responsibility of the minority. All members of the House should work together in legislating measures for the interest of the people,” said Atienza. Seen now as one the closest to the new House Speaker, Atienza has not accepted any key position in a reorganized lower chamber because he does not want any political label or affiliation to whatever action he takes. Atienza, as an independent voice in the House, opposed the granting to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front powers to have its own military and police force, a Commission on Audit, and its own system of taxation. Yet the MILF, which said the lack of these powers is a diluted version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, accepted the revised law passed by a bicameral body.
Atienza was firmly against the granting the above mentioned powers which would make the Bangsamoro a state within a state. It was a good thing the MILF did ask for its own separate Department of Foreign Affairs. Then we will all have to get visas to enter regions and provinces under the Muslim Mindanao areas.
Today, Monday, the House in plenary session is expected to clear up the minority issue. It is just as well so that pending and priority legislative proposals can be taken up. Those who want to be in the minority bloc must state their intent in writing, said Atienza, adding that that those who used to be in the majority but voted against Arroyo or abstained cannot automatically be deemed the minority bloc unless they state it in a formal letter. This is the process to be followed and approved by the Speaker whose stamp of approval is also needed in choosing the heads of key committees in the looming House reorganization.
There are certain bills that need the House attention. Among them the creation of a Department of National Disaster Management considering the Philippines, according to a United Nations study, is the world’s third most disaster-prone country. Flooding and landslides brought about by back-to-back typhoons that visit the country rake its toll on human lives and billions of pesos in damage to agricultural crops. The Philippines is also in the Pacific ring of fire or earthquake belt. Residents of Metro Manila with its tall buildings and condominium towers are waiting for “The Big One” which everyone is praying does not happen.