Tectonic shift begins

Tectonic shift begins | Daily Tribune

One of the complaints against Dy is his supposed failure to consult members of Congress “to find out what problems we are all facing.”

Dy, representative of Isabela’s 6th District and a member of the prominent Dy political dynasty, became the 29th Speaker of the House after serving just weeks as deputy speaker after Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte’s 1st District stepped down.

Puno dismissed claims that the NUP was involved in moves to overhaul the House leadership, but he voiced his colleagues’ complaints over the “unequal treatment” they were receiving.

“All we hear are promises that are not fulfilled. So for us, that is enough. Because if we are being treated like the enemy, then why stay?” Puno said.

While the party is not withdrawing its support for the House leadership, he said its members are taking actions to show their dissatisfaction.

He revealed, for instance, the plan to surrender his position as deputy speaker and for NUP members to give up their committee chairmanships.

The NUP holds 31 House seats, roughly 10 percent of the chamber, well behind Lakas–CMD’s plurality of 104 seats.

The rift between the House leaders and the NUP likely stemmed from the party not solidly supporting the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

It did not adopt a unified position in the so-called “Impeachment 2.0” effort — which passed the House Committee on Justice’s sufficiency of substance test in early March — allowing its members to vote according to their conscience rather than adhere to the party discipline.

In a statement, the NUP said it would “most likely not vote in favor” of impeachment for “lack of fresh compelling evidence,” as the constitutional process demands a stronger legal foundation than the recycled allegations provided.

The reasons Puno cited for the NUP members’ discontent indicated they were leaning towards leaving the majority.

“I am speaking on behalf of our members who feel abandoned,” he said.

A major source of party members’ displeasure was the suspension of projects in the wake of the flood control corruption scandal, which had slowed development efforts.

Puno said the shortfall should have been explained by the House leadership to them since “we cannot explain anything (to our constituents) because we ourselves do not know.”

“Suddenly, we are the ones being asked: what happened to the repair of this bridge that you said would be finished this quarter? We cannot answer,” he said.

The tipping point was the revived impeachment push against VP Duterte, where the NUP voted “based on substance. We even gave suggestions on how the case should be handled.”

“Yet they get angry with us. What is that? Do they want us to simply say yes to everything without discussion? Of course not,” Puno said.

It now appears the political realignments have begun two years early.

Any attempts to again manipulate the national budget for partisan ends, particularly with the oust-Duterte move, would be better avoided, with voters in no mood to compromise amid the deepening economic hardship.