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Business Insight
Thursday, May 16,2019

Opposition taces tougher

battle in 18th Gongress
BY WENDEII VIGILUT
THE opposition Liberal Party
is expected to win just 18 of the
more than 240 seats in the House
of Representatives in the incoming
1 8th Congress artd, with a looming
administratioo allies while there are
fears the Senate may be reduced
a rubberstamp.
The opposition bloc in the 17th
'Congress led by RePs. Edcel Lag-
man (I-P, Albay) and Teddy Bagui-
lat (I-P,Itugao) bad*aged an uPhill
total of217 congtessmen voted ist Rep. Edgar Erice of the second
to to adopt the resolution and the disuict of
Caloocan City, Stella
iustice committeeh tepott dismiss- Luz Quimbo of Marikina GtY's
second disttict vzho will succied
ing the comptaint, while only fout
voted no. het husband, ougoiog ReP Mro
One of the opposition leaden in Quimbo; and former'\4akati CitY
the next Coogtess is te electiollist acting mayor Romulo "Kid" Peia
.

landslide win by administration
bets.in the Senate race, President
Duterte is expected to futther
streogthen his grip of the legisla-
tive branch.
Its voice stifled in the 17th
Congtess, the opposition is facing
a tougher 6ght this time because
the House will be dominated by
batde at dre Housg their votes on
cootrovefsial Pieces of legislation
&owned out by the maiority suP-
porting Duterte.
As an example, the House dis-
missed the impeachment com
plained frled by ReP. GarY Ale-
jano's @L, Magdalo) against Pres-
iden Dute.te in March 2017. A
Rep. Jose Cfuistopher "KiC' Bel-
monte of Quezon City's sixth
district, who was among the oP-
position's most active fiscalizers in
the current 17th Congress.
Belmoote is one of only fout LP
members vho have won corrgfes-
sional seats in Metro Manila. .
{he tfuee otlers ate re-election-
Jr.. who defeated former vice presi-
tent lelomat Binay in the congres-
sional race of Makati's fitst district.
The other 14 LP members
who ate leadhg in the congres
sional race are outgoing Autono-
mous Region in Muslim Mindanao
See OPPOSTTIQN ) Page 83

OPPOSITION was proclaimed yesterday as the repre-

(ARI4N[) Gov Muiiv Hataman of the
Ione disrrict of Basilan; re-electionist
Reps. Francis Getald "Blue" Abaya of
the first district of Cavite and Edcel
Lagman of the first district of Albiy;
Re-electionist Reps. Josephine Sato
of tlle lone district of Occidental
Mindoro, Jocelyn Limkaichong of the
6rst district of Negros Orienal, Cheryl
Deloso-Montalla of the second disnict
of Zambales; Gabriel Botdado of the
second disttict of Camatines Sur;
Raul del Mar of the fust district of
Cebu; Emmanuel ''Tavri" Billones of
the fust district of Capiz;EdgatMiry
Sarriiento of the fust district of Samar;
Isagani Amatong of rhe third disrict
of Zamboanga Del Norte, Paul Daza
of the 6rst district of Northern Samar
and Edgar Chatto of the 6rst district
of Bohol.
Re-electionist Rep, Luis Raymond
Villafuerte Q.{l Camarines Sur) who
senrative of the province' second dis-
tricg said dre shutout of the opposition
in the elections is a "resounding vote
of confrdence" in Presideot Duterte
that will give him a fresh maqdate to
push further reforms and initiarives in
keeping udth his agenda to sustain the
growth momentum and rcduce poverty
incidence to just 14 petcentby 2022.
Villafuerte said the still unofficial
Senate race tally in which I
istration-backed bets are in the top
12 list is a "crystal clear message that
President Duterte temains the most
dominant force in Philippine poJitics."
"President Duterte has bucked thc
convendonal wisdom of an incumbent
chief executive turning less populat
and into a political lame duck aftet the
midterm polls on his ot her watch," he
said in a statement.
Villafuerte said the election results
also "show the people's overwhelm-
_ing support for the tough wat that
the President had larinched against
the illicit drug inde and other major
crimes, in line with his 2016 campaign
pledge to make our homes aod streers
safe agaia."
The only candidate in the Magic 12
that vas not publicly endorsed by the
President is re-electionist Sen, Grace
Poe, who ran as an independent can-
didate and was not in the oppositio4's
Otso Ditetso slate.
I admin- Villafuerte said the results ate not
teally sutprising given that Dutette's
approval and aust ratings "temain at
record high levels at this time when his
predecessors see their ratings rapidJy de-
cline dudng this same rnidrerm petiod.
"The.election fesults show that
the people want the Senate to remain
supportive of. irstead of being an ob-
structionist chamber to. the teforms
and initiatives that President Dutettc
wants to push in the incoming 18th
Congress in suppot of his indusive
grorrth agenda."

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