MONDAY / JUNE 3,2019

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fight for speakership
President-a fact that will not The new speaker will be cho- tion will have some 36 seats
@qljlayaplN.q surface becawe of a desire to be s"n io an i-trl" r,*""-ct,,ro will have fl.
anointed odytobe lalownbyacts of the o" "p";i"g
"t".tion "i,h"
J'uty rr] Liberal party secured 18 seats.
In the absence of an endoise- ofbetrayal iter the eleaiotr" trr" iorncroing.18ti-Congress
witi the president
ment by President Duterte or Capiz congres$nan-etect added. State ofthe NationAddress.
Set aside politics
his daughter by proxy, the race said congress needed C""tto r"io;up;,h ;"-"
1e Incoming lawmakers would
for the speakership atthe House speaker_who waltruly support- " 26 members in the incoming need to set politics aside
of Representatives will weed ive of the outerte aiministra- congress, would and
meet soon ti cross party lines to ensure pas-
out any pretenders to the post, a tion-not those who faked their
discuss who to.support in t[e sale of key economic reforms
House leader said on sunday. allegiance in the hope ofgetting
speakership contesi'.
:
Maiority Leader Fredenil a.presidential anointmeni - ^ sta*.rr oi r'lp, trru in'thu.ra*t thr"" years, one of
casho welcomed the pro- .".ona the top contenders for speaker-
r*g"rip"mJ p#y il it ,"ro on sunday.
nouncements of both Mr' Front-runners comingtongresi, have affirmed ""# ,'nipRomualdez acknowtedged
Duterte and his daughter, Davao castro, a stalwart of the Na-
their s;ppori to, b"y"t-o
- io the the challenges of enacting the
City Mayor Sara Duterte, that tional Unity party (NUp), earli_ speakership piesiOenfs priority measures
race.
neither would intervene in the er expressed interest in the In a siatement, camarines in only three years.
battle for llouse leadership when speakership but saiaire rrio
the r8th congress opens inJuly' plans to puisue it.
no sur Rep. Luis Raymund villa- But .,nothing is impossible
"with this decision of the
ru.*. Jr. and House Deputy if we all set our sights on that
The front-rumers include speaker Raneo Abu of Batangas goal,', the president
President and Davao rnayor, tre Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez of Lakas-
of siid the party was committ€d - cMD said in a statement.
selection of the next speaker Lakas-cliristian Muslim Demo- La.hng'cayet"no's.""oia".y. to ..Allwe
will be genuine' democratic and crats-(Lakas-cMD), Marinouque - need is to unite as one
cayetano, the defeated mn- bodyand set politics aside.Ifneed
free' as it will reflect and demon- Rep. Lord Allan velasco, former
ning mate of Mr. Duterte in the be, wehave to cross party lines to
strate in no uncertain terms the speaker Pantaleon Alvarez
of 2016 e-lection, is secretary gen- help the president Lift our people
-
real choice of the majority mem- P;rtido Demokratiko
Pilipino- era ortne vittartea rp. " troir poverty,,,nomualdez added"
bers and minority members as Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Lffi,
Np will have at least 40 seats The next Speaker will re-
well"'he said in a text message and former toreign secretary in
the House, second tb pDp-La- place pampanga Rep. cloria
"This wil also show who the AIan or
-?eter
real ones are supporiive'of the cionalista
cayetlno N"'- l"tr with more than 80 aeats. ivlacapagal-Arroyo, whose term
larty iNP). ine nationalist people,s coali- is expiring. rNe
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