House minority group headed for a split

MANILA, Philippines - The 35-member House minority group appears headed for a split.

Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan told reporters yesterday that they have informed Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora that the seven members of Makabayan coalition, to which she belongs, could not work with former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former first lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez Marcos.

“We cannot work with them, we cannot be in the same group with them. That is one of the reasons why we did not vote for (Leyte) Rep. (Martin) Romualdez for minority leader,” she said.

Ilagan said they have conveyed their sentiments to Zamora and other colleagues who voted for the minority leader.

“They recognize and respect our misgivings,” she said.

The seven militant Makabayan members were the swing votes in the hotly contested fight for the minority leadership. Providing a third of Zamora’s votes were lawmakers from Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Kabataan, Gabriela and ACT Teachers party-list groups.

Zamora acknowledged that going into last Monday’s election of House leaders, the contest between him and Romualdez was so close that neither of them was sure of bagging the job of the leader of the opposition in the House.

Zamora said Makabayan’s decision to go with him was the “tipping point.” He received 19 votes, winning over Romualdez by just three votes.

The total of 35 members who voted for them are considered part of the minority, while the 244 who voted for Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. belong to the majority.

Romualdez and Zamora, however, said their groups will not merge to form a single opposition bloc but would cooperate on issues and advocacies where they can work together.

“We are minority/independent. While we are separate from the minority, we shall be in close collaboration with one another,” Romualdez told reporters.

“We did not vote for the Speaker and the minority leader, it means we are independent,” he explained.

Marcos voted for Romualdez, her nephew, while Arroyo, though she skipped the session, is counted as part of the minority.

A Romualdez supporter said they would be forced to form their own minority group if they are not welcome in Zamora’s bloc.

Aside from the Makabayan coalition, Zamora received support from a composite group of House colleagues.

His most visible recruiters were Reps. Rodito Albano of Isabela and Carol Jayne Lopez of the party-list organization You Against Corruption and Poverty.

Albano recruited three of his province mates: Ana Go of the second district, and Silvestre Bello III and Arnel Ty, both party-list representatives.

One of the two other Isabela congressmen, Giorgidi Aggabao, voted for Belmonte, while Napoleon Dy did not participate in the voting.

Zamora’s other voters included Lino Cayetano of Taguig and Seth Frederick Jalosjos, who both belong to the Nacionalista Party (NP), which is grooming Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano for the presidency in the 2016 elections.

Though he won under a local political party, the San Juan congressman is identified with the NP.

Romualdez, on the other hand, drew support from his colleagues from Lakas, the ruling party during the Arroyo administration. Lanao del Sur’s Dimaporo couple – Abdullah and Imelda – voted for him. The Dimaporos are Lakas members.

Romualdez’s other supporters included former Manila mayor and Arroyo environment secretary Lito Atienza, one of three representatives of the party-list group Buhay. Atienza’s two other Buhay colleagues voted for Belmonte.

Another Arroyo Cabinet member, former agriculture secretary and now Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap, cast his vote for Belmonte, along with Batangas’ Eileen Ermita-Buhain, daughter of Arroyo executive secretary Eduardo Ermita. – Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero