Monday, 15 July 2019 _
Dailv Tribune '
Dysfunctional
Dinah S. Ventura
It can be hard to beli€ve it was a
"bitter and fractious rivalryn when all
we see sometimes are theh smiling faces
and hear them utter words dripping of
political correctness.
Bur those were the
-
words nresidential 66
sDokesmansalvador Leadcrs
Panelo used to descfibe uha do not
the speakership race haoe the
that had so fN inYobed' talent to
so many personalities 'schnwoze'
in the IIouse of donT go as
Representatives and far ot fla
cou$e,he the otherg
..beyond. And of
would know exactly how uho d.o.
"bitter and fractious' it
had become.
All we know is that even the
President's son and daughter had
shown some ofthat wellknown Duterte
temper - tempered as it were by polite
statements and formal announcements,
And so after President Rodrigo
Dutert€ gave his endorsement of three
names out of the eight or so that got
into the mix along the way, a slew of
other issues cropped up.
One was why he did so, implying that
the Chief Executive's recommendation
will eventually be moot as the House will
Yot€ for its own leader anyway.
Well, Duterte had said as much,
adding that he was asked, so he gave his
answer. And ifthe House does not agree
with his endorsements, he also said he
won't mind. It is up to them, after all.
A week before the much-awaited
State ofthe Nation Address (S0NA), the
rivalry continues, iL seems.
More of the pushes and pulls had
been revealed last week, when a
nnot over,' and
congressman said it was
that there w8s 'unhappiness' ov€r the
President's choice of Rep. Alan Peter
Cayetano.
$ome say he is not well-liked in the
Ilouse, but perhaps lre onlyhasn't done
enough to gain the support of his fellow
congressmen.
Duterte's yery revea.ling remark - that
it's all politic$ until they get down to
work - seems true becaus€ sometimes,
leaders who do not have the talent to
'schmooze' don't 80 as far or as fast the
others who do.
So if Reps. Cayetano and Lord Allan
Velasco end up not getting a term-
sharing deal in the House after all' we
may finally know what the grumblings
and fumblings we h:i,ve seen thus far
are all about,
We should know by then how that
contloversial "text' allegedly from
Mayor Sara Duterte was all about and
who were behind the 'moves' still going
on in the House, as rcvealed by partylist l
Rep. Mike Defensor.
If ihis rumored dissatisfaction gives
way to another big surprise corne SoNA
day, well, we should hope to have a
closure on this ugly chapter where it's
hard to tell what's really driving this
'brutal' match in the House.
"ln the ultimate analysis, the vote on
the speaker would lie on the members
of Congress, The only reason why
the President Save that, suggestion is
because those vying for it went to him
faat and sought his wise suggestion to settle
the row between and among them,'
Panelo said in an intervieir lqst week.
That such urown has taken so long
reve8ts aietp gap that cannot seem to
be stopped, not even by the President'
who obviously strove to be fair.
It is disubingtg note
tllat despite the cdlls for ((
unity - and Cayetano One was
even went so far as why he did
to invite his fellow 66, iap1yi1lg
lawmakers to jgin giql ltts 6t i<l'
the Diehard Dile'rte gasxy1ixs's
Superm4iorit$ which r""or-rnrdoition
is di$urbing in its wi ewntua y
because {ongress is be moot as
supposed l,o have a thc Eouse will
mrnd ot rts own - lnal - .-
: . DOte ror tts oun
the resDonse nas Deen .
opposite. lea4er anUuaV'
the
It reveals cracks ..
within the House we pray will not
crumble, and a strange stubbornness
in our House membcrs that reflects on
the quality of'leadership ihe people
may have to witness in the next three
years,
Will ii mean slower progr€ss fOr the
country as.out lawmakers keep duking
it out among themselves? 0r will they
set aside whatever it is that is keeping
thern from coming to a satisfactory
agreement?
As for us, mere mortals, we should only
hope to be satisfied by the work we expect
from these wranglers we call lanmakers
once the l8th Congess begins.
\
Paqr' - A5
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