17th Congress gets on with a ‘supermajority’ and a row for Minority Leader

And so we have a new Congress – the 17th version – of the Philippine Republic under the Duterte Administration.

The Senate President is Aquilino Pimentel III from Cagayan de Oro City, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte while President Rodrigo Roa Duterte – who was born in Maasin City, Southern Leyte – is a long-term mayor of Davao City.

ALL-MINDANAOAN SHOW – For the first time in Philippine history, the heads of the executive and legislative branches are all from Mindanao, led by President Duterte (middle), who delivered his first State-of-the-Nation Address yesterday at the Batasang Pambansa as Senate President Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III of Cagayan de Oro City (left) and House Speaker Pantaleon ‘Bebot’ Alvarez of the first district of Davao del Norte try to listen.  .  

(Photo by Mark Balmores / mb.com.ph)

 

Sen. Pimentel and Speaker Alvarez belong to the PDP-Laban party of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. No honorable titles here from now on, thank you.

The Senate has for its President pro tempore Senator Franklin Drilon (Liberal),  Majority leader Sen. Vicente Sotto III (NPC) and Minority leader Sen. Ralph Recto (Liberal). Parang weird talaga ang coalition agreements sa Pilipinas. LP and PDP-Laban sign a coalition agreement and you have Senators Drilon and Recto on opposite sides of the fence.

At the House of Representatives, Speaker Alvarez (PDP-Laban) has the following Deputy Speakers:

1.Eric Singson (PDP-Laban pero ex-LP);
2. Mercedes Alvarez (Nationalist Peoples Coalition);
3. Fredenil Castro (National Unity Party);
4. Raneo Abu (Nacionalista Party); and
5. Miro Quimbo (LP).

Alvarez has a Majority leader in Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas (PDP-Laban pero ex-LP din) and supposedly, a Minority leader Teddy Baguilat (LP).

Buuuuuuuutttt: Ilocos Norte Rep. Fariñas and company are in the process of changing the rules.

Even if Ifugao Rep. Baguilat came in second to Speaker Alvarez  with 8 votes over Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez’ 7 votes, the Majority Leader insisted in plenary on July 26, 2016 that all those who did not vote for Speaker Alvarez (15 + 20 representatives who abstained) have to vote for a Minority Leader.  Wow.

So as of this writing, there is yet to be a House of Representatives Minority Leader  in the 17th Congress.

Change has come in the House. #

 

 

 

 

 

UNSEATED: Liberal Party loses one, gets one in Congress

There is another milestone for the Liberal Party (LP) in the 16th Congress.

Lord Allan Jay Velasco was installed on February 1 by the House as Marinduque representative after more than two years of preventing the removal of LP member Regina Ongsiako Reyes.

Velasco is a member of the National Unity Party (NUP). He joins his mother Ang Mata’y Alagaan (AMA) Party-list Rep. Lorna Velasco in Congress.

This is sweet: a son-and-mother tandem in Congress that has connections all the way to the Supreme Court.

The LP lost one member, will lose another one (the johnny-come-lately type) and essentially gain one in the end.

Another LP member (actually a former stalwart of the LAKAS-NUCD), shall most likely be replaced following another Supreme Court decision disqualifying Surigao del Sur Rep. Philip Pichay (that’s the brother of another ex-Cong. Prospero “Itanim sa Senado” Pichay.

Pichay will be replaced by Mary Elizabeth Ty-Delgado who ran as the LP bet for Congress in 2013.

Its a case of minus one plus one.  Status quo, with only a minor ripple, thanks to the HRET and the Supreme Court.

(More thanks to www.scoopnest.com and politics.com.ph)

Happy Holidays!

 

thanks to: www.twoten9.com

Return of the Comeback Part 3 (The Cagas saga)

The Cagas saga continues.  And the political clan’s comeback is not in the necessarily good news peg.

 

In response to an appeal of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) calling for media and public vigilance on the case of a murdered journalist in  Davao del Sur, this microdot in the internet universe is posting these for sharing.

 

This incident involves the waning Cagas political dynasty of Davao del Sur on the island of Mindanao.

To visualize the said dynasty (and why we say it is waning somewhat), the Cagas family held the province’s major political posts for more than a decade.

Former Assemblyman (1984), former Congressman (1998-2007) and former Governor (2007-2013) Douglas “Dodo” Cagas is the clan’s patriarch (http://mindanaonewsmakers.files.wordpress.com/).

Congw. Didi Cagas http://www.congress.gov.ph

His wife is former provincial board member and current first district Congresswoman Mercedes “Didi” Cagas. She is on her first term in the 16th Congress.

His brother Gary Cagas is the Punong Barangay (village chief) of Zone III in Digos City.

His son is former Congressman Marc Douglas Cagas IV who served two terms (2007-2013).  You may have a glimpse of what he was like in https://congressionalobserver.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/ombudsman-merceditas-gutierrez-impeachment-part-1/ and in  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkKb4JR6qY4

Digos City Councilor Josef Cagas http://digosprobe.blogspot.com/

A nephew, Josef Cagas, is a Digos City councilor.

What happened to the Cagas dynasty in the most recent polls (2013)?

Former Gov. Dodo lost in his Digos City mayoralty bid to Mayor Joseph Peñas.  Former Cong. Marc Douglas lost in the gubernatorial elections to Gov. Claude Bautista. Cong. Didi and Councilor Josef won.

Now Dodo Cagas is in jail, after being tagged as the mastermind in the murder of a journalist in June 2010. Cagas, along with Matanao, Davao del Sur, Mayor Vicente Fernandez have been implicated in the murder of Nestor Bedolido in June 2010.

The NUJP welcomed the surrender of Cagas, who was tagged as the mastermind  in the killing of Bedolido.

Eerily,  Bedolido once served as an editor of the Digos Times, a magazine that Cagas owned.

More details can be found here: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/646035/nujp-appeals-to-media-public-to-keep-spotlight-on-davao-del-sur-journalists-murder

This still happens in the Philippines. And so justice must be served. This is our small contribution to keeping the case in the public eye. #

 

 

 

Return of the Comeback Part 2

Ok. Thanks for the encouragement. Let’s continue doing this while we can. Har har har.

So as to be a little bit fair lest we be told that we only look at those who are quite close to the center of political power in this beloved Philippines of ours, let us look for the others in the DBM DAP list. It can be a bit taxing for some. But sige na nga. Let’s try. Pasensya na po at puro mga former pa rin ang mga ito.

Another cursory look at the DBM DAP list revealed something interesting as seen in these two links:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/09/24/14/pnoy-allies-lgus-got-biggest-dap-bayan  and

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/95989/dap-list–lawmakers-who-endorsed-projects-for-funding-and-sums-involved-as-culled-from-dbm

From Congress to the local governments they went

According to the said news sites, the following officials — all former members of the House of Representatives got so and so amounts from the DAP:

Former Leyte Rep. and now Baybay City Mayor Carmen Loreto Cari

Former Misamis Oriental Rep., former Misamis Oriental Governor and now Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno

From http://municipalityofpavia.files.wordpress.com/

Former Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. now Governor Arthur Defensor

From http://dutertenovalyn.wordpress.com/

Former South Cotabato Rep. and former General Santos City Mayor Darlene Antonino Custodio

Former Albay Rep. and now Governor Joey Salceda

Former Pangasinan Rep. and former Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza

From: bengclimaco.blogspot.com

Former Deputy Speaker and Zamboanga City Rep. now Mayor Isabelle Climaco.

All of them got differing amounts from the DAP. So much blessings from the brainchild of former Batanes Rep. and DBM Secretary Butch Abad. So much blessings to those allegedly close to the current Malacanang tenant, former Tarlac Rep. and former Senator Noynoy Aquino.

For happiness sake, we’d like to end this part 2 of a photo album with a nice one. So here is a pic of newly-wed legislators of the 16th Congress:

Las Pinas City Rep. Mark Villar and DIWA Party-List Rep. Emmeline Aglipay.  From http://davaophilippineboomingcity.blogspot.com/

From gloom to happiness. The work continues. Congress is going on a break from September 27 to October 19, 2014 as the website http://www.congress.gov.ph says.  But the world, the Filipino people and this microdot in the internet universe will still be watching. #