Majority Leader known next week

The dominant House coalition will elect a Majority Leader by next week, interim Majority Leader and 2nd District Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro said.

“To be specific, it could be, since we did not have the opportunity to vote now or to select the Majority Leader, we can expect it Monday or sometime next week,” Castro said.

Castro added he is performing the duties of Majority Leader until the House makes its choice.

“When you say ‘Interim,’ meaning to say that Interim Majority Leader is placed on the spot in order to perform the duties of the Majority Leader and the new Speaker having been elected, it means that the Interim Majority Leader is there until after such time that the regular Majority Leader is elected into office,” he said.

4th District Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Antonino who was also at the press briefing, said the candidates must be those who were integral to the election of Arroyo as Speaker.

“There were a number of people who are very crucial to the process, who really helped and who really showed that they supported this move. So it’s very hard to discuss the internal conversations that we’re having in the majority right now, but I’m sure the best candidate will be decided upon,” Antonino said.

House Resolution 2025 which was routed to House members last 23 July resulted in Arroyo taking away the Speakership from Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.

“Whatever they say, so long as it is approved by the majority and the House members, there is no impediment to the validity of the election of Speaker Arroyo,” Castro said.

Antonino said the resolution was simply a matter of ensuring that the records of the House accurately reflected in the 23 July election.

“Putting in this resolution was more for us, a matter of housekeeping to make sure that our official (House) Journal was up-to-date with what happened, with what transpired on the floor in our session to elect Speaker GMA,” she said.

However, Castro also said last Wednesday that he would give way to Deputy Speaker Rolando Andaya Jr. if they are both nominated as Majority Leader of the House of Representatives.

“The truth is that so many members of the House of Representatives suspect that I will be the next Majority Leader. But you know, I’m not the only one who’s being eyed to be the Majority Leader. There are other members of the House of Representatives who are equally qualified to be Majority Leader,” the Capiz 2nd District representative told reporters.

Speaker Arroyo, meanwhile, termed speculations about her ambition to become prime minister after the government shifts into federalism as a “black propaganda.”

She told reporters in Bataan that it is unlikely for her to become prime minister since the charter currently being pushed demands a “presidential federal” government.

“Look, to begin with, the proposed Constitution is presidential federal isn’t it? So that (claim that I will become Prime Minister) is black propaganda,” said Arroyo, who is in Dinalupihan to distribute relief goods to communities recently hit by calamities.

However, she said she has not read (the proposed charter) yet because she has not seen the committee report but stressed that the President mandated the Consultative Committee to draft a presidential constitution.

Arroyo also opposed the idea presented by former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to postpone the 2019 elections so Congress could work on the proposed federal charter.

“No, definitely I am not supporting term extension,” Arroyo said when asked if she would back a “no election” or No-El scenario.

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