Monday, July 26, 2004
Rep. Cuenco ready to give up drugs chairmanship for foreign affairs
WITH the support of President Arroyo and other lawmakers, Rep. Antonio Cuenco is willing to give up the chairmanship of the House committee on dangerous drugs so he can sit as chairman of the committee on foreign affairs.
But Cuenco (Cebu City, south) is not sure yet if he will get the post since assignments and committee chairmanships for the Lower House will be done through an election tomorrow yet.
At the opening of the 13th Congress today, the representatives will elect the House Speaker and deputy speakers, the sergeant-at-arms and the secretary-general of the House, Cuenco said.
“There’ a big jockeying for top posts and other positions but everything has to go through an election. In Cebu, our lawmakers have already expressed interest in positions and some got the support of the House Speaker and other congressmen,” he told Sun.Star.
Cuenco said that President Arroyo and House Speaker Jose de Venecia are supporting him in his bid to become chairman of the committee on foreign affairs and vice chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs.
Since a congressman can’t have two committee chairmanships, he is willing to give up the chairmanship of the committee on dangerous drugs, a position he held during the 12th Congress.
Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) is also being endorsed by most of the legislators from Western, Eastern and Central Visayas for the post of Deputy Speaker for the Visayas.
Reps. Clavel Martinez (Cebu, 4th district) and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district) might also sit as members of the Commission on Appointments.
Cuenco also said that Rep. Antonio Yapha (Cebu, 3rd district), a doctor, might retain his post as chairman of the committee on health, while Rep. Simeon Kintanar (Cebu, 2nd district), a former chief of the National Telecommunications Commission, is interested to chair the committee on communication. LCR
(July 26, 2004 issue)
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