THE once powerful and ruling Liberal Party has been relegated to the minority and may end up joining forces with opposition United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
After two major party meetings in as many weeks, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. announced that the Liberals were no longer keen on the speakership or the minority leadership.
Remnants of the Liberals are aligning themselves with the majority and the minority but will not take the lead role on either side.
Of the more than 100 Liberals winning the House seats, Belmonte was left with only 20 LP members supporting his speakership bid with more than 80 members jumping ship to back Pantaleon Alvarez.
Belmonte himself said he would not even try to contest the minority leadership.
UNA president Toby Tiangco or Quezon Rep.-elect Danny Suarez would slug it out for the minority leadership but has yet to muster enough numbers to bag the minority leadership.
UNA only has 17 members, not enough to beat Belmonte’s numbers.
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said should the LP-Belmonte wing choose to align with the minority, UNA would get the minority leadership because Belmonte will opt for the back seat.
“The Speaker already called “Bebot “Alvarez the incoming Speaker. The speakership issue is really fast to resolve particularly if there is already a presumptive Speaker. The one who’s got the blessing from the incoming president. Minandohan na, binasbasan na ng Presidente,” Gonzales said over radio dzBB.
Gonzales said just like in the case of Belmonte, when he was presumed to be the anointed of President Benigno Aquino III as speaker, the consolidation of forces was fast.
“In fact, even before the term of Speaker Belmonte as mayor of Quezon City ended, everything had been set into motion,” Gonzales said.
“As far as I can recall, the day after the elections, the Speaker and I were together. After a few days, I was already talking to the National Unity Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition and Nacionalista Party and how to distribute the proportional representations of the committee chairmanships,” Gonzales told dzBB.
Gonzales said Belmonte gave the LP members freedom where to align—to majority or minority without necessarily leaving the party.
“Whether you are a majority who opt to transfer to the minority of course with the consent of the minority leader. Then the minority to transfer to majority with the consent of the majority leader. That’s under the rules, assuming na yong ia-adopt nilang rules ay itong sa 16th,” he said.
Belmonte said he has not decided yet where to align himself.
“Everybody wants to be in the majority. LP will be part of the majority. Being with minority is just an idea I am mulling. We don’t even know who will be in it,” Belmonte told the Manila Standard.
Belmonte said he had already met with Davao del Norte-elect Pantaleon Alvarez and that it helped that they knew each other personally in the 11th Congress.
