Paolo Duterte might run for House Speaker after all

File Photo
File Photo

PRESIDENTIAL son Paolo Duterte said Tuesday, July 2, that he will now join the race for House Speaker.

“Moapil na ko pagka-speaker (I will now join the race for Speaker),” Duterte, who has started serving as Davao City First District representative, said in a statement.

“The House is divided, I might be able to help unite it. Pareho lang kaming binoto ng mga tao ah. Kung term sharing, term sharing na kaming lahat (We were all elected by the people. If we adopt term-sharing, we might as well include everybody),” he added.

He suggested that the position of Speaker be shared among representatives from Luzon, Visayas, Mindano and the party-list group.

“I will ask the visayas bloc to elect their speaker for their term share, and so with the Mindanao bloc and the party-list coalition,” Duterte said.

“We are not talking about two persons here. We are talking about our beloved country. It is not about speakership alone, but who is the right person to unite Congress and I hope those running for the speakership stop influencing the Cabinet,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier vowed to step down if son Paolo would run for House Speaker.

"Itong si Paolo, sabihin ko sa kanya (I will tell Paolo), if you run for speakership, let me know. Kasi kung tatakbo ka, mag-resign ako. Kasi marami na tayo (Because if you run, I will resign because many of us are already holding positions in government)," the President said in a speech delivered before generals at Palace's Rizal Hall on May 27, 2019.

At the time, Paolo responded by saying he had no plan to run for House Speaker.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday said the President would rather wait for the final announcement of his son before making any decision.

"Pwede rin magbago isip ng Presidente, pwede ring magbagong isip si Congressman Paolo Duterte. Tingnan natin (The President may change his mind. Congressman Paolo may likewise change his mind. Let's see). Let it evolve," the Palace official said.

"Eh plano pa lang naman ‘yun e. So hindi mo malaman kung itutuloy niya o hindi (It is still a plan. We don't know if it will push through or not)," he added.

Contenders for the post include PDP-Laban candidate Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, Davao del Norte First District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Voting will be conducted when the 18th Congress opens on July 22. (With Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines)

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