Belmonte to remain speaker under Roxas presidency

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. will remain as Speaker of the House of Representatives if Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Mar Roxas gets elected, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said yesterday.

“Mar Roxas announced during the Speaker’s birthday celebration last Friday that if he wins the presidency, SB will remain Speaker,” he told a news conference. He was referring to Belmonte.

Asked what the reaction of his House boss was, Gonzales said Belmonte flashed his usual wide grin.

Responding to questions, Gonzales said he received information that Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez is eyeing the top House post.

“Under whose presidency, I do not know,” he said.

Benitez heads the LP chapter in his province, but he reportedly does not see eye-to-eye with his local party leaders and his governor, Alfredo Marañon Jr., who does not belong to the ruling party but is a Roxas supporter.

There are speculations that Benitez might switch to the camp of Roxas’ rival Sen. Grace Poe.

In the case of a Binay presidency, Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco, president of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance, will most likely aspire for Speaker.

Belmonte, who will be on his third and last term as representative of Quezon City’s fourth district, said he did not feel threatened by those who wanted his job.

Gonzales said even under a Poe or Binay presidency, Belmonte would have a fighting chance to retain his post.

“Remember that the Speaker has already established relationships, friendship and rapport with House members, something that those interested in his post will take time to build,” he said.