MANILA -- Davao Del Norte 2nd District Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. on Monday confirmed that he will be seeking the speakership of the House of Representatives in the upcoming 18th Congress “to ensure that President Rodrigo Duterte gets solid support from the House leadership” in his last three years in office.
In a message to the media, Floirendo said he met Sunday night with “some very important personalities of the land” regarding the mid-term elections and the remaining years of the Duterte administration.
He said among the matters discussed was the importance of ensuring a stable administration under Duterte.
The Davao del Norte lawmaker noted that part of the 17th Congress under then House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was far from the kind of Congress that everybody wanted.
The lawmaker said he committed a big mistake when he emphatically endorsed Alvarez as Speaker to President Duterte.
“Alvarez was dictatorial, vindictive and divisive leader in Congress that resulted in his abrupt ouster. And with incumbent Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on her last term as congresswoman, many fellow lawmakers have expressed their interest in the House speakership position, including again Alvarez,” he said.
Besides Alvarez, among those reportedly eyeing the speakership are former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco and former Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez.
“I want to unite the Lower House in fully backing the Duterte administration realize its dreams for the Filipino people in the three remaining years. Thus, I have decided to join the fray, not for my own political ambitions, but to ensure that President Duterte gets a solid support from the House leadership,” Floirendo said.
Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said he received a text message from Floirendo informing the Palace of his plans.
The Palace official, however, clarified that President Duterte does not meddle with leadership concerns at the House.
"He (Duterte) allows everybody to seek whatever position they want," Panelo said. (PNA)
