MANILA -- Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas and his allies at the House of Representatives have challenged the minority leadership of Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez before the Supreme Court.
Fariñas' bloc filed on Aug. 30 a petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus, contesting Suarez's post as minority leader and asking the high court to recognize ABS Party-list Rep. Eugene de Vera instead. A copy of the petition was released to House media on Wednesday.
Named as respondents were Suarez, House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) and Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr.
The petitioners include Fariñas, de Vera, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, Pampanga Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc, Makati City Rep. Manuel del Rosario, Compostela Valley Rep. Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado, Lanao del Sur Rep. Mauyag Papandayan Jr., Leyte Rep. Lucy Gomez, LPGMA Party-list Rep. Arnel Ty, and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali.
Fariñas earlier argued that de Vera should be recognized as the minority leader after most of Suarez's bloc "abandoned" the minority by voting for Arroyo during the leadership change at the lower chamber on July 23. Suarez also voted for Arroyo as Speaker.
De Vera was Suarez's deputy minority leader.
House Rule II Section 8 states that "members who vote for the winning candidate for Speaker shall constitute the Majority in the House and they shall elect from among themselves the Majority Leader."
According to the petition, Arroyo and Andaya committed “grave abuse of discretion” for continuing to recognize Suarez as the incumbent minority leader.
“In recognizing, and continuing to recognize, Respondent Suarez as the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives , and refusing to recognize Petitioner de Vera as such Minority Leader, Respondents GMA and Andaya have committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction by unlawfully excluding, and continuing to unlawfully exclude, Petitioner de Vera from the full exercise of his mandate and those of his co-Petitioners as the duly constituted Minority,” the petition read.
The petitioners also sought the issuance of a status quo ante order “in order to preserve the last actual, peaceable and uncontested situation before the controversy” by recognizing de Vera as minority leader, as well as a temporary restraining order against the respondents to cease and desist from recognizing Suarez as such.
Meanwhile, Andaya said while he respects the petitioners' right to seek redress from the high court, the House leadership will continue with its legislative work under the present organizational setup.
"We have a full docket of bills to be passed. We will commence plenary debates on the 2019 budget next week. House committees are in conference with the Senate to hammer out a bicameral version of priority and vital measures," Andaya said in a statement.
"We enjoin all House members to focus on our legislative work before the onset of the election campaign period," he added.
Andaya earlier said the retention of Suarez as leader was based on precedents, noting that "previous practices and traditions" form part of the rules of the House.
He cited the first case where former Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella replaced then Speaker Manuel Villar in 2000. Andaya, who was minority leader during that time, voted for the winning Speaker and still retained his position.
"After the votation, I ended up still in the minority," Andaya said.
He also cited the ouster of then Speaker Jose de Venecia, who was replaced by former Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles in 2008.
Andaya said members of the minority who voted for Nograles still remained in the minority.
He noted that then minority leader Ronaldo Zamora was still recognized as the bloc's head even after the leadership change.
"There are precedents to this. This is not unique. This has happened three times. There is legal basis," Andaya said.
"We are in a situation that there is a subsequent leadership change not involving the entire organization of the House," he added. (With reports from Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
