Young solons warn of trapos’ possible return

At least 63 young congressmen are wary of the possible return to Congress of traditional politicians or trapos.

In a manifesto, the first-term congressmen said they will fight for their rights as second-term House members in case their constituents re-elect them in the May 14 combined congressional and local elections.

Speaking for the group, Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano of Taguig-Pateros said when they assumed their job as lawmakers in 1998 they obeyed the seniority rule under which second- and third-term congressmen were given priority in the selection of House leaders, including committee chairmen.

"We respected tradition despite the fact that we, neophytes, comprise two-thirds of all House members, and we could have easily elected our leaders," he said.

Cayetano said the so-called "fourth-termers" should not demand the privilege of having a first crack at House positions in case they return to Congress.

The congressmen’s manifesto defines "fourth-termers" as "those who are staging a comeback or return to Congress after a three-year lull in their political career brought about by a self-imposed exile or vacation from politics or after recuperating from a defeat in last time’s election."

Among the so-called trapos who plan to seek congressional seats in May are former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., former Majority Leader Rodolfo Albano, former Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora of San Juan, and former Senate President Neptali Gonzalez.

De Venecia will fight incumbent Benjamin Lim in the fourth district of Pangasinan, while Albano intends to edge out his son, Rodolfo III, who now represents the first district of Isabela.

Zamora will run against incumbent Jose Mari Gonzalez and possibly Mayor Jinggoy Estrada. The former Senate president, on the other hand, will run in the lone district of Mandaluyong City which is now represented in the House by son Neptali II, who is giving way to his father.

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile has announced plans to seek a congressional seat in the first district of Cagayan, now represented by his son Jack.

The elder Enrile has lagged in the surveys largely because he was one of 11 senators who voted against opening the second Equitable-PCI Bank envelope that prosecutors claimed contained records that deposed President Joseph Estrada had amassed P3.23 billion in one account in one bank alone.

Two re-electionist colleagues, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Gregorio Honasan, also performed poorly in the recent opinion polls.

De Venecia, if he wins against Lim, and Zamora, if he is elected, are expected to go for the speakership.

Cayetano said these politicians, in the event they win, should be considered as first-term congressmen.

"We will insist that they be treated as first-termers and that the tradition with its inherent merits be respected. We stand up for the right of self-determination in Congress and that we be given the opportunity to select our leaders from among ourselves," he said.