House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez yesterday disclosed that more solons holding key posts who voted against the death penalty will be removed when the House of Representatives resumes sessions in May.
Four more members of the House majority bloc have been identified as among those who will get the ax for voting against the passage of House Bill 4727 which proposes the restoration of death penalty in the country.
Alvarez said more lawmakers who thumbed down the death penalty bill when it was presented on third and final reading last week will have to be stripped of their posts, just like what happened to former President and House Deputy Speaker Pampanga Rep. Gloria M. Arroyo and 11 committee chairpersons.
Among the four solons to be ousted, the case of Liberal Party Rep. Josephine Ramirez Sato of Mindoro Occidental could trigger a controversy.
Several Malacanang allies in the House want Sato, who is identified with former President Benigno S. Aquino III, replaced as member of the powerful Commission on Appointments.
In a statement, Sato warned that her removal as CA member will be a violation of the Constitution, considering that the CA is a constitutional body “whose membership is based on proportional representation of the political parties in the House.”
“If I am removed based on my vote then that would be an infringement of the independence of the Commission,” she said. (Ben R. Rosario)