At the rate of defections and political butterflies jump from the outgoing ruling party to the incoming party in power are taking place, only the incumbent leaders of the 16th Congress have remained loyal to President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III in the latter’s remaining days in office ending noon of this June 30.
As the consequence of the presidential elections in May 2010, President Aquino’s Liberal Party (LP) took control of both chambers of the 16th Congress. But this was nothing new nor was it wrong about the LP becoming the ruling majority in Congress after P-Noy assumed power.
It is but the natural course of things in politics that such re-alignment and shift of political alliances take place after elections.
Through Senate president Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., P-Noy managed to carry out most of his legislative agenda in terms of the priority administration bills passed and approved during his six years in office. Drilon and Belmonte, themselves used to belong to other political parties before they became LP stalwarts.
Both are former members of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and the Lakas-NUCD during the past congresses. The LDP lorded it over in Congress led by the late Speaker Ramon Mitra while the late LP Senator Jovito Salonga was the Senate president during the term of P-Noy’s late mother, President Corazon Aquino.
When former President Fidel Ramos won in 1992, his fledging Lakas-Tao grew in number in the next Congress and merged with the National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD). Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia (Lakas-NUCD) became the House Speaker and Sen. Edgardo Angara (LDP) was the Senate president.
But it was De Venecia who sired the so-called “rainbow coalition” in Congress. Under the “rainbow coalition” agreement, lawmakers from various political parties promised to support the common legislative agenda of the ruling administration party. However, they need not join and be sworn in with Lakas-NUCD as the party in power but will keep their respective membership in political parties.
The “rainbow coalition” paved the way for the passage of landmark laws that were approved during the administration of ex-President Ramos. Major reforms in strategic economic, political, and social spheres that went through the gauntlet of Congress were produced by the “rainbow coalition.”
De Venecia has since retired from politics but continues his various advocacies in speaking engagements here and abroad. His wife, “Manay” Gina, is the current congresswoman in their home district in Pangasinan. She is on her second term but did not seek re-election but let their son Christopher to run instead. The young De Venecia, who contributes to The STAR Lifestyle section, won in the last May 9 elections.
Fast forward. The evolving composition of the incoming 17th Congress it seems is going through the same phase during the Ramos administration. But instead of a “rainbow coalition,” the incoming allies of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte from the PDP-Laban led by newly elected Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez is trying to come up with a hybrid alliance of political parties in the 17th Congress.
They target to come up with their so-called “super majority” at the Lower House before the 17th Congress convenes on July 25. This will be the ceremonial opening of their joint sessions at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City where President Duterte will deliver his maiden state of the nation address.
While the planned “super majority” is being organized by Alvarez at the House, PDP-Laban president Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is trying to beef up his party of one at the Senate.
In our Kapihan sa Manila Bay breakfast forum at Cafe Adriatico in Remedios Circle at Malate last Wednesday, Belmonte disclosed the erstwhile “three-man” party of the PDP-Laban is enlarging itself with recruits. Unfortunately, he noted, it has been at the expense of other political parties being raided and mostly coming from their LP ranks.
Aside from Alvarez, the two other newly elected PDP-Laban Congressmen are namely, Reps. Jun Papandayan and Erik Martinez of Valenzuela City.
But right after the results of the May 9 presidential elections clearly showed Duterte is the winner, Alvarez began already forming their “super majority” coalition to be led by PDP-Laban. It has so far forged formal ties with other political blocs, including Lakas-CMD, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), the Nacionalista Party (NP), the National Unity Party (NUP) and the party-list coalitions.
To date, Alvarez counted as much as 190 House members either new or re-elected as reportedly having officially signed up with the PDP-Laban led “super majority.”
Of this total, 60 or so have been sworn in reportedly as new PDP-Laban card-bearing members.
Now on his third and last term as Quezon City Congressman, Speaker Belmonte reiterated his support to the incoming President even as the newly elected allies in Congress from Duterte’s PDP-Laban continue to raid the LP ranks at the Lower Chamber. He is least perturbed though by the pronouncements from the incoming party in power to wrest the Speakership from him.
Belmonte was elected and served for two consecutive terms as Speaker of the 15th and 16th Congress. But he first became Speaker in his previous term during the 11th Congress. A check he made from the House records showed that Duterte who was then Davao City Congressman along with Alvarez who first represented his congressional district, both voted for him to the Speakership.
Belmonte expressed optimism that LP lawmakers will be able to work out the priority bills under the legislative agenda of the incoming administration of President-elect Duterte.
As the party in power, the PDP-Laban, Alvarez in particular, will be dispensing chairman’s positions in the various House committees as perks to entice recruits to the new party in power.
But having “super majority” is no guarantee of speedy and smooth-sailing relations of the Palace with Congress. Alvarez will have his hands full to navigate and steer the priorities in the legislative agenda of incoming President Duterte in the 17th Congress. That is, if Alvarez’ “super majority” can replicate the time-tested “rainbow coalition” formula to deliver the goods when most needed.