HEADLINES : MANILA – Alvarez: Speakership a money race
Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez
Two aspirants reportedly offering P500,000, P1M for votes
Votes for House Speaker are going for as much as P1 million, an aspirant for the position claimed on Tuesday, with two months left before the 18th Congress formally convenes and chooses its leaders.
Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, who wants to regain the post after being ousted last year, alleged in a TV interview that two lawmakers were offering huge sums to secure votes.
“My colleagues told me that someone offered P500,000 per congressman and then this was countered by another with P1 million per congressman,” Alvarez said in mixed English and Filipino.
“I won’t say who it is,” he added when asked to identify the legislators.
Alvarez is among the contenders for the speakership along with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco — said to be Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio’s personal bet; House minority-backed Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez; Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales, the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan’s (PDP-Laban) national deputy campaign manager; and former Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.
Incoming Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte and outgoing Sen. Loren Legarda, who will represent Antique in the 18th Congress, have also been tagged as possible candidates. Both have denied interest in the post.
Velasco — said to be one of the front runners along with Romualdez — denied buying votes for the speakership.
“I’m not giving away a million pesos … congressmen should respect fellow congressmen,” he said in a separate interview.
“They won’t go through that dealing just to be able to get the votes. Each congressman has his or her own views so I don’t think each congressman can be bought that easily,” he added.
Romualdez had yet to comment as of press time. He has reportedly already secured the backing of at least 126 lawmakers but not the endorsement of Duterte-Carpio, who was instrumental in Alvarez’s ouster last year.
The support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter is viewed as crucial for the speakership race as she is tipped to succeed her father in 2022. Like her father, Duterte-Carpio has said that she is not interested in the presidency.
Last week, she denied having “recommended” Romualdez, criticized Cayetano for warning her against Velasco, and refused a reconciliation with a “very dangerous and Machiavellian” Alvarez.
Meanwhile, an incumbent House member condemned the alleged vote-buying by speakership contenders.
“It is disgusting to hear that those aspiring to be Speaker of the House need to shell out money to assure their win,” Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said in a statement.
“How can we promote fair and clean elections if leaders, including the president, tolerate the practice of bribery and vote-buying? How can we attract well-meaning politicians to take part in public service if at the end of the day what matters is money?” he added
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