House revamp not linked to VP impeachment – lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines — Regardless if there is an impeachment or not, committee chairmanships in the House of Representatives are based on a lawmaker’s inclusion in the political party which has priority over that panel, and members decide on who should represent them.

This was the clarification made by House Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong regarding the recent removal of Rep. Roger Mercado as chairman of the committee on population and family relations, Rep. Dale Corvera as vice chairman of the appropriations panel and Rep. Ramil Hernandez as head of Southern Tagalog committee.

These lawmakers were among those who voted against the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

“The committee chairmanships, it’s allocated per party. So, if ever you are designated chairman there, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll stay that way forever. Because at any given time, memberships can actually change in every committee,” Adiong explained.

“Those changes, it happens regularly. It is not something that happens now, it happens regularly. It just so happened that we had this issue on impeachment, that’s why many are trying to associate those changes in committee chairmanships to the result that came out during the voting,” he said.

Adiong also pushed back against any suggestion that the impeachment vote should be measured by whether the House leadership was personally satisfied with the outcome, saying it was the chamber’s duty under the 1987 Constitution.

‘Litmus test’ for Philippines democracy

Meanwhile, Adiong said that Duterte’s impeachment trial before the Senate Impeachment Court is actually a litmus test for the country’s democratic institutions and constitutional accountability mechanisms in the face of never-ending polarization.

“This is actually a litmus test for us to really say that this democracy still works. And this is the perfect and democratic venue for both sides to air their complaints,” Adiong – spokesman for the House prosecution team – declared.