WHO SAID game fixing could happen only in sports?
It can happen in the House of Representatives, too, and there Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco is accusing the new ruling party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), of fixing the fight for the minority leadership.
The minority bloc is the fiscalizer in the House and it must have credibility, he said.
Tiangco, president of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), had wanted to contest the race for the minority leadership even though he knew he would 鈥減ossibly鈥� lose to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte of the Liberal Party (LP).
鈥淎t least, it would be losing fair and square,鈥� Tiangco said yesterday.
Deal with Alvarez
But his partymate, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, suddenly joined the race and apparently sealed a deal with President Duterte鈥檚 chosen Speaker, Davao Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez III.
On Saturday, Belmonte announced that he would no longer lead the opposition in the 17th Congress and that the LP would join the PDP-Laban-led majority coalition.
UNA is the political party of former Vice President Jejomar Binay, who, after years of preparation and campaign chest building, polled only 5.4 million votes in the May 9 presidential election, getting crushed by Mr. Duterte鈥檚 16.6 million votes.
Tiangco said Binay, Suarez, and Alvarez met on Tuesday at Makati Diamond Hotel to discuss the minority leadership race.
At the time, Belmonte was still was still talking about leading the minority bloc.
鈥楧anny, not Toby鈥�
According to Tiangco, Alvarez told Binay that he was 鈥渨illing to give votes to UNA on one condition鈥濃�攖hat the minority leader would be 鈥淒anny and not Toby.鈥�
鈥淚 told [Binay], 鈥榃hen did the majority get a say in picking who would be the minority leader?鈥� I did not agree to it. And then [on Saturday], SB (Sonny Belmonte) withdrew from the race,鈥� Tiangco said, adding that he was just as surprised as everyone else when Belmonte announced his capitulation.
Tiangco said he did not want to be part of the 鈥済ame fixing.鈥�
In a statement, Suarez said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe anyone has a monopoly [on] public servitude (sic). It pains me to see my colleagues trying to undermine my bid for the minority leadership in tomorrow鈥檚 speakership race. I have been a minority leader before and I have my track record to back me up.鈥�
LP Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay said the selection of the minority leader was 鈥渂astardized鈥� by the alleged agreement between Alvarez and Suarez.
Lagman said it was 鈥渢rue鈥� that Alvarez offered to lend congressmen from the majority to vote for Suarez instead of him so Suarez would end up becoming the minority leader.
鈥淏ecause if no one is lent to Suarez, he would not win. In other words, this process is being bastardized. We now have what we call a charade,鈥� Lagman said.
Lagman said he would not join the Belmonte-led LP exodus to the majority bloc.
He said seven other LP members, five party-list representatives, and allies from other political parties would become the 鈥渋ndependent minority,鈥� which he wanted to call 鈥渋ndependent caucus.鈥�
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Looking for candidate
The latest development has led Tiangco and Lagman to cross party lines.
At press time last night, they are set to discuss whom they could field in today鈥檚 race for the House speakership, even if Alvarez was expected to win it hands down and Suarez to lose but still become the minority leader.
鈥淲e have to put up a fight as a symbol [of] what we stand for. We are trying to find a candidate,鈥� Tiangco said.
鈥淥f course, it will be difficult to find one because it would take a miracle to win. But we have to try to convince someone who is willing to be the symbol of our common stand that game fixing has no place in Congress, that there should be a true and real minority,鈥� he said. TVJ