JULY 22, 2013

NR # 3172C

Belmonte vows to lead a congress worthy of public trust

On opening day of the 16th Congress, Quezon City Rep. Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. was installed anew as Speaker of the House of Representatives by an overwhelming 245 votes. Today, I am deeply humbled by your vote of confidence. I accept anew this duty, equally confident that, irrespective of our differing political affiliations, geographic or sectoral interests and persuasions, we will always stand strong and unified in our resolve not merely to consolidate the gains thus far realized, but to move towards our great future, Belmonte said. As agreed upon before the actual nomination process, whoever comes second to the Speaker-elect becomes the Minority leader of the chamber. Results showed that San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora garnered 18 votes as against 16 for Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Belmonte was first elected as Speaker briefly in 2001, and again in the 15 th Congress. The actual count of those present who voted was 279. In open plenary session, Speaker Belmonte administered the mass oath taking of the 279 member actually present at shortly past noon of Monday during the opening session of the chamber. Subsequently, six Deputy Speakers also took their oaths of office in open plenary, namely: Hon. Henedina R. Abad (Lone District- Batanes), Hon. Sergio A.F. Apostol (2 nd Dist. - Leyte); Hon. Giorgidi Aggabao (4th Dist. Isabela); Hon. Carlos M. Padilla (Lone Dist.-Nueva Viscaya); Hon. Pangalian M. Balindong (2nd Dist. - Lanao del Sur); and Hon. Roberto V. Puno (1st Dist. - Antipolo City). As expected, the undisputed choice for the post of Majority Leader was Mandaluyong Citys Neptali M. Gonzales II. Plenary also affirmed the election of Secretary General (Atty.) Marilyn Barua-Yap and House Sgt.-at-Arms Brig. Gen. Nicasio Radovan, Jr. (Ret.) In his acceptance message, Belmonte vowed to pursue a leadership that respects the voice of every member in all legislative proceedings and upholds the integrity of the assembly as a democratic institution of government. Looking back, the Speaker recalled the back-breaking burden that legislators of the 15 Congress bore to discard practices of the past and steer the country towards the proverbial straight path.
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In the past three years, it was the House which overhauled the appropriations process, and built the habit of the prompt enactment of a transparent and responsive national budget; this House which refused to shirk from the politically difficult task of impeachment and fortified the constitutional promise of accountability in government, he stressed. He also cited the nations remarkable improvement in areas like: competitiveness rankings; governance indicators and corruption indices, the investment grade credit ratings achieved under President Aquino; and the economic growths posted last year and in the first quarter this year are feats to be proud of in the wake of global economic instability. Our task in the next three years must be to resist the costly temptation of resting on our laurels, to inspire greater belief in our collective capacity for greater accomplishment within our country and outside, and to marshal government resources towards making possible a more vibrant and resilient economy and people, Belmonte said. He underlined that greater investment in public infrastructure and facilities must be encouraged, simultaneous with determined efforts to achieve prudence in the use of public resources. We must nurture a legal ethos that mandates and extolls prudence in spending and transparency and accountability in the use of public funds, especially in the use of the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF). Ambiguity must yield to specific, definite and verifiable development programs and projects for both district and party-list funded activities, he added. He strongly endorsed a strict obedience to much tightened guidelines in the use of public resources to guarantee efficiency and ensure that public funds benefit the people. Belmonte stressed the need to complete the modernization of public institutions and the processes they adopt, and rid them of wastages which equally robs the people of essential public services. Together with you, we will be that Congress worthy of the trust reposed upon it by the constituency who elected us the Filipino people, he concluded. (30) dpt