House of Representatives upholds 'integrity, honor' after attacks from Duterte

RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution upholding its own integrity and honor as well as the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez weeks after they were criticized by former President Rodrigo Duterte after they removed the confidential funds of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.House Resolution 1414 did not mention Duterte by name. The three-page resolution only said that it is imperative to uphold the &quot;dignity, integrity and reputation&quot; of the chamber as well as support Romualdez&#x27;s leadership.The closest it came to contextualizing why the resolution was issued was when it said that the House &quot;takes exception to statements made that undermine the independence, integrity, and reputation of the institution, more so when these statements are couched with threats or insinuations of physical harm to a sitting member of Congress.&quot;&quot;The safety and security of each member of the House, while in the performance of their duties, will always remain paramount, and the House remains committed to achieving unity for the betterment of the country,&quot; HR 1414 added, without mentioning that House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro sued the elder Duterte for allegedly making grave threats against her in a TV interview.&quot;The importance of this resolution cannot be overemphasized. It is our duty as members of this distinguished and respected institution, the House of Representatives, to express our collective energies and undivided attention, and stand behind our leader, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, in maintaining a dynamic, socially coherent and independent legislature,&quot; Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales said in his sponsorship speechIt would take the interpellation of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman for the sponsor of the resolution, Gonzales, a congressman from Duterte&#x27;s PDP Laban party, for the former leader&#x27;s name to actually be mentioned as the reason for the resolution when the House convened itself as a Committee of the Whole to tackle House Resolution 1414.&quot;I have no problem with this resolution but let us place this in context. For the record what recent events transpired subverting the integrity of the House of Representatives to merit the consideration of this resolution,&quot; Lagman said during the period of interpellation.&quot;As you know during the break there were threats against one of the House members and the House itself so I believe this is a show solidarity not only toward the Speaker but for the institution as a whole and its sanctity,&quot; Senior Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos said.&quot;I remember vividly there was a grave threat on the life of one of our members, the Hon. France Castro but with respect to the whole House, was the integrity of the House challenged at anytime during the break,&quot; Lagman said.&quot;I could not give you the exact date but I understand it was done on a certain TV network and some words were said to malign the reputation of our institution, &quot; Marcos also said.When Lagman wanted to put in the records what words they are calling out, Marcos deferred to Gonzales, who initially did not appear eager to name names. &quot;If I&#x27;m not mistaken that was October 6 or 1st week of October when I heard some bad news regarding the House of the people, our institution that&#x27;s why I think that I prepared a resolution to defend our institution, I heard a lot, you know media, social media all platforms so I think all of us here we are almost 213 congress persons to defend the institution,&quot; Gonzales said.&quot;Yes we have to defend this institution but what I am asking for what are the overt acts which were uttered, which could be considered subverting or challenging the integrity of this House because the resolution is rather vague it does not give us the proper background. I&#x27;m asking this question not to question the resolution but to give it some anchorage,&quot; Lagman added.&quot;I hate to say this but when I heard the word rotten of course I felt bad,&quot; Gonzales explained.&quot;I also would feel bad hearing that accusation that the House is rotten but may we know who uttered that statement? Was it a comic? Or a leader or previous leader of this country,&quot; Lagman said.&quot;Why is the name of that accused so sacrosanct that we cannot mention it before this body?&quot; Lagman said in apparent frustration.Gonzales would name the former chief executive, but not before resigning from PDP Laban. Gonzales was a member of the party Duterte chairs.&quot;Mr. Chairman, I will answer the question of Congressman of Albay Cong. Edcel Lagman but before I will answer your question, is the president of the PDP party, are you here Mr. President Congressman Alvarez, the one who uttered that word is our chairman, from PDP Laban, before I will answer I will resign now as member and officer of PDP Laban, the former president, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the one who said that,&quot; Gonzales said.At this point, Lagman came out in favor of the resolution.&quot;He has said so many derisive utterances before and he must answer for all of these I fully support this resolution. And that statement is also an accusation of the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez and for that reason I truly support this resolution,&quot; Lagman said.Lagman&#x27;s interpellation was followed by manifestations of support made by representatives of the various parties in the House that support Romualdez&#x27;s speakership, reminiscent of the nomination speeches prior to his election as Speaker.These are Reps. Jose Aquino of Lakas CMD, Albert Garcia of National Unity Party, Robert Ace Barbers of the Nacionalista Party, Michael John Duavit of the Nationalist People&#x27;s Coalition, Johnny Pimentel of Duterte&#x27;s own PDP Laban, Margarita Nograles of the Party List Coalition but who hails from Duterte&#x27;s home turf of Davao City, former cabinet member now ACT CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, who is a relative of Romualdez by marriage.The Committee of the Whole adopted the Resolution, which endorsed it to the plenary session which is comprised of the same lawmakers who sat in the Committee of the Whole. The same lawmakers then approved the resolution, this time as a plenary session of the House.&quot;As guardians of the Filipino people&#x27;s rights and interests, House members are duty bound to ensure that we are armed with the people&#x27;s collective consciousness to help us discern whenever good leadership works, and when political power is being wielded as a weapon of oppression and counterproductivity,&quot; House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said, urging his colleagues to approve the measure.Approving the resolution took up most of the plenary session of the House of Representatives on Monday.Noticeably absent from the published list of authors of HR 1414 was former President now Deputy Speaker Gloria Arroyo, a staunch ally of the Dutertes. Arroyo was demoted from senior deputy speaker to deputy speaker amid rumors of a leadership change in the chamber last year. Arroyo has denied participating in such a plot. Romualdez already dismissed those talks.

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House of Representatives upholds 'integrity, honor' after attacks from Duterte

House of Representatives upholds 'integrity, honor' after attacks from Duterte

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 06, 2023 07:28 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

Rodrigo Duterte

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Sara Duterte

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