By Ben Rosario
Former president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision to keep off the dispute for recognition among three minority groups leaves the Supreme Court to resolve the row.
1PACMAN partylist Rep. Michael "Mikee" Romero (photo from House of Representatives website)
Assistant Minority Leader and 1Pacman Partylist Rep. Michael Romero said the position taken by Arroyo makes the filing of a High Court case inevitable for any of the opposition group that will continue to pursue its bid to be recognized as the sole minority bloc in the chamber.
Romero, vice chairman of the House Committee on East Asia Growth Area, noted that all three blocs have referred to the same House rules to support their respective claims.
“The only difference is in the way they interpreted the rules. The Supreme Court will have to be called in to resolve the issue,” Romero said.
Arroyo has refused to drawn to the controversy that has continued to take center stage during the first few plenary sessions under her leadership.
“That’s a matter for them to decide. Let them work that out,” she replied when asked about the controversy.
Romero, who played a significant role in Arroyo’s election as speaker, has refused to comment on which group will benefit from the speaker’s passive stance.
None among the leaders of the three factions has dared to comment when asked.
However, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez insisted that the House leadership has continued to acknowledge him as the minority leader.
ON the other hand, former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and his group of 13 former House officials have elected ABS Partylist Rep. Eugene De Vera as the minority leader, saying that the partylist solon manned the minority bloc as deputy minority leader when Suarez led other members of the group to vote for Arroyo as speaker.
De Vera cited the rules that provides that only House members who did not elect for the eventual speaker will form the minority bloc.
Meanwhile, the third faction headed by Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo insisted that they consist the rightful minority because of their number. There are now at least 26 members of their group.