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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Pablo bid for House Speaker stirs clash in Kampi
CEBU CITY -- The plan to field former Cebu governor and incoming second district congressman Pablo “Pabling” Garcia for House Speaker against Representative Jose de Venecia has revealed cracks in Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), the political party identified with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
A day after this report came out one of its top officials issued a denial.
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Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who is also chairman of Kampi, said the party will not field a candidate for Speaker for the 14th Congress.
Puno said Kampi will remain a member of the administration coalition in the House of Representatives.
Kampi president Luis Villafuerte, however, told Sun.Star Cebu that Puno’s statement is “at best or at worst, his personal opinion and is not binding to the Kampi member-congressmen.”
Not discussed
On Monday, de Venecia, president of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, said that while he welcomes challengers to the post, he is confident of being elected again as Speaker.
In Cebu, Pabling said he is ready to challenge de Venecia and has received “several pledges of support from all over the country.”
Puno said Monday that Kampi officials recently met to discuss an impending reorganization in the House. He said the issue of challenging de Venecia for Speaker was never discussed.
Puno said that following the meeting, over 25 senior Kampi officials met with de Venecia to reaffirm their support for his leadership. Party officials discussed with de Venecia the need to give Kampi a bigger role in defining the House’s legislative agenda.
Kampi is now the second biggest party in the House. From having only 36 members in the current Congress, Kampi is expected to have 53 to 58 congressmen in the incoming Congress.
“Personally, I would want continuity in the House of Representatives so that its members can immediately jump into legislative work once the new Congress opens in July and be more productive,” Puno said.
“The important thing for us is to ensure that the national interest is upheld and that we can fast-track legislation that would support the development programs of President Arroyo,” he added.
Presidential adviser for political affairs Gabriel Claudio described the plan to field Pabling as a surprising development.
Claudio, senior deputy secretary general of Lakas, said the plan runs in contrast with an earlier pronouncement of Puno that the party would support the continued leadership of de Venecia.
He said Kampi officials and members should settle the issue among themselves before making “varying” public stands.
Puno said Kampi would be in a funny situation of being in the House minority if it fields a candidate for the speakership and loses.
“It would be hypocritical for us to assume the minority position in the House. This is not the time for the administration coalition to create problems for itself,” he said.
Also Monday, Pabling described talks of other Cebuano congressmen interested in the position as a ploy to divide support.
He said he is certain that Cebu City Representative Raul del Mar, who is now deputy house speaker, will not be vying for the position, contrary to what was reported.
According to him, del Mar, two days before he left the country, talked to his (Garcia’s) son, incoming third district congressman Pablo John Garcia, to campaign for de Venecia.
Pabling further said his son, Government Service Insurance System president and general manager Winston Garcia, called up Cerge Remonde to ask him about his claim that del Mar and Representative Eduardo Gullas are also gunning for the position.
But Remonde, according to Pabling, claimed he was misquoted in the news reports.
“We are fighting a giant but we will just work hard and one thing is sure, there are many who are concerned with the image of the House and its leadership,” said Pabling, citing a low approval rating for the House in recent surveys.
Villafuerte, for his part, said in a Sun.Star interview that he had a “long discussion” with Gullas about the issue so he’s sure that Gullas, a Kampi member, will not be running for Speaker and will support Pabling.
Villafuerte said Puno and other Cabinet official “should keep quiet” because the President herself had said she will not meddle in the selection of Speaker.
Villafuerte said he is confident that Kampi congressmen will rally behind Pabling, despite Puno’s statement.
“Congressman Pablo Garcia is a member of Kampi therefore all Kampi members must support him rather than someone else. What is awkward is for a Kampi member to support a non-member. And any person who is not a congressman should not interfere in the selection process,” Villafuerte said.
He also wondered why Puno, who “was always the one criticizing the Speaker, suddenly surrenders to the Speaker.”
The National People’s Coalition (NPC), for its part, has “not met” to discuss the matter so NPC stalwart Rep. Tony Cerilles of Zamboanga del Sur expressed surprise Monday over the report that NPC is behind de Venecia.
“It is high time that the position of Speaker will go to the south to represent Visayas and Mindanao. It’s not true the NPC is all out in its support for JDV. I can speak for myself and my colleagues in Mindanao. We have one vote, one stance and that is to support Pabling. All talks of having other candidates from the south are not serious and came from the camp of somebody threatened,” said Cerilles.
Cebu City second district Representative Antonio Cuenco, meanwhile, said that unless Pabling gets the support of the President, his chances at being the next Speaker are slim.
Cuenco said he will support Pabling’s bid to become the next Speaker but without Arroyo’s endorsement, his support will be of little help.
“Although it goes through an election, the congressmen want to find out who the President is supporting even before they vote, primarily because the release of their funds depends on Malacañang,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Pabling’s chances will also depend on his ability to distribute “juicy” committees, such as the committee on appropriations and committee on ways and means, to the different blocs of legislators from other regions, Cuenco further said.
“It’s up to Pabling to present a viable plan, what reforms he intends to introduce if he becomes speaker and whether these will support the President’s programs. He will just have to sell himself to the President and present what he can do to improve the image of the House and how he can get the congressmen to support her,” he added.
Cuenco said Pabling is highly qualified to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, adding that he is one of the best debaters and parliamentarians in the House during the latter’s previous terms.
But the next Speaker of the House, he said, should also know how to hold together opposing political groups and handle intrigues and internal power struggle.
“He should be able to wield together all these divergent groups so the legislative agenda can be fulfilled and whenever the President needs to be defended in the House, like during an impeachment, he should know how to get the cooperation of all parties in the House,” Cuenco said.
Cebu sixth district Representative Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, meanwhile, said she will campaign for Pabling to become the next Speaker. She said Pabling has a good chance at being elected, being one of the most respected members of the incoming Congress. (Sunnex/JPM/LCR/AAG)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (May 29, 2007 issue)
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