THE principal story coming out of the House of Representatives this week was about the continuing fight for House leadership, with two top Congress leaders losing their key positions – Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Salvador Leachon as chairman of the House Electoral Tribunal. The unexpected changes in the House came as Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano of the Nacionalista Party claimed there was a move to oust him. “If you are going to continue your intrigue,” he said, “better quit your positions and come back when Rep. Velasco becomes speaker.”
Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, leader of the PDP-Laban in the House, is supposed to take over the speakership and serve for 21 months after 15 months of Cayetano’s leadership, under an agreement moderated by President Duterte when the newly elected House members of the18th Congress could not decide by themselves.
The end of Cayetano’s 15 months is still many months away but charges and counter charges of alleged offers of key House positions in return for support have come up. Congressman Velasco disowned any such plan for the speakership.
Suddenly last Monday, the House voted to oust two of Velasco’s key allies – Congressman Ungab from his chairmanship of the all-important Committee on Appropriations and Congressman Leachon from his chairmanship of the Electoral Tribunal.
The Hugpong ng Pagbabago, regional party of President Duterte’s daughter Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte Carpio, immediately condemned the ouster of Ungab as “grossly unacceptable” as it is to the disadvantage of the Duterte administration’s reform agenda. We can expect repercussions in the coming days.
It is indeed unfortunate that internal problems of the House are keeping it from concentrating its efforts on so many important pending bills. There are hundreds of them, all designed to meet problems now confronting the nation.
There are bills to create new departments to attend to urgent needs that have come up in the life of the nation, among them a Department of Overseas Filipino Workers and Foreign Employment, a Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, a Department of Disaster Resilience. There are bills strengthening the healthcare system, increasing the benefits of barangay officials, conserving and protecting public forests, a plan for national economic decentralization, etc. One urgent matter that only the House can do something about – the franchise of ABS-CBN which ends in May – scheduled for opening committee deliberation on March 10, the day before the House adjourns its first regular session.
The political leaders are naturally concerned with leadership issues in the House of Representatives. Certainly these are important. But they should be able to act on these issues quickly and decisively perhaps with some help from key administration allies. And proceed with the critical job of enacting bills, such as those cited above.
