In a roundabout way, the House of Representatives Monday managed to elect their new officers by selecting minority leader then voting for the Speaker of the House.
San Juan Representative Ronaldo Zamora was elected as House minority leader after the opposition was allowed to vote for the post among themselves.
House rules state that the candidate for Speaker who gets the second highest vote automatically becomes minority leader.
Prior to this, the lower chamber of Congress managed to resolve the legitimacy of House Secretary General Roberto Nazareno as presiding officer until the election of the officers.
Meanwhile, Panginasan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr won over Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia in the leadership race as Speaker of the House, gaining 159 votes against his opponent.
This is de Venecia's fifth term as the head of the House.