Lakas stalwarts sign pro-Speaker manifesto

Amid rumors of a House leadership change for allegedly using the ayuda cash subsidy to push the people’s initiative signature drive, the ruling Lakas-CMD majority bloc issued a manifesto in support of Speaker Martin Romualdez.

- SHEILA CRISOSTOMO

According to House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Mannix Dalipe – who is also Lakas-CMD’s executive vice president – the manifesto was signed by the party’s members to support Romualdez against what they described as baseless accusations.

“We, the members of the Lakas-CMD in the House of Representatives, stand united in our resolve to defend the integrity of our esteemed Speaker, the Honorable Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, against the unfounded criticisms levied upon him in the context of the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution,” the manifesto reads.

The manifesto was signed by 91 of the 94 members of Lakas-CMD, the dominant political party in the 311-strong House of Representatives.

It was also signed by Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, despite her rift with the Speaker in the past.

Arroyo is close to Vice President Sara Duterte whose father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, has been criticizing the House since the chamber removed the P650-million confidential fund requested by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which the younger Duterte heads.

Romualdez is also being criticized by his cousin, Sen. Imee Marcos, who accused him of offering P20 million for each legislative district in exchange for the signatures being collected for the people’s initiative.