Militant congressmen believe that the high drama witnessed during the House session Wednesday serves as a mere preview of the pre-election posturing among President Duterte's very own allies.
(Bayan Muna Partylist / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
"This is a preview of what's to come, how the political landscape in the next months and years leading toward 2022 would be shaped by this ongoing and never-ending war of dominance between these factions and blocs (of the Duterte coalition)," Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said during the Makabayan Bloc's virtual press conference Thursday.
A day earlier, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano freely took shots at his rival, Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, amid Velasco's impending takeover of the House top post. Duterte himself brokered the term-sharing pact between the two for this 18th Congress.
Cayetano is reportedly being backed by Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go while Velaso is known to be close with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
"More than the battle of personalities, more than the battle of whether (or not) to comply with the term-sharing agreement, ang nakikita rin po natin ay banggaan ito sa kontrol ng resources hindi lang dito sa House of Representatives kung hindi ang buong budget na…pinagdedebatihan (what we see is a conflict for the control of resources not just here in the House of Representatives but for the entire budget that…we are deliberating on)," Zarate said.
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro agreed. "Alam natin na nasa likod nitong bangayan na ito 'yung 2021 budget na tinuturing nating election budget (We know that behind this conflict is the 2021 budget, which we consider an election budget)," she said during the presser.
"Nakikita natin dito 'yung mahigpit na bangayan kaugnay nito (We see the intense infighting because of this)," Castro said, referring to the proposed P4.506-trillion national budget -- the biggest in the country's history.
Zarate said that whoever will sit as Speaker will "control" this huge budget, as well as the true election year budget come 2022.
"Magtutuloy-tuloy yun (bangayan) dahil nga 'yung tinatawag nating (The infighting will continue because this) war of dominance of these different factions and blocs is also aimed at their own conflating interests especially leading towards…the 2022 elections," he said.