Suarez dares Alvarez to declare if he had offered bribe to win speakership of 2016
Published May 29, 2019 08:24 pm
By Ben Rosario
Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez yesterday dared former speaker and Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez to declare in public whether or not he resorted to bribery when he ran for speaker in 2016.
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez
(HoR / MANILA BULLETIN) Suarez, a staunch supporter of Representative-elect Martin Romualdez, warned that accusations of bribery over the speakership post could put the Lower House and its members in bad light before the public. In radio and television interviews on Monday, Alvarez accused two lawmakers of allegedly offering bribes of P500,000 to P1 million to secure the votes of colleagues in the race for the top Lower House post. However, the former House leader has refused to name who is offering money in exchange for votes, saying that the information was relayed to him by his “colleagues”. Alvarez is seeking to regain the seat that was taken from him when the Lower House declared his position vacant during a coup staged by the majority of congressmen last July 2018. Together with Marinduque Rep. Lord Alan Velasco and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Alvarez will represent PDP-Laban in the speakership race. In the regular press conference of the House minority, Suarez declared his support for Romualdez, who heads Lakas-CMD of which the minority leader is a member. Also running for speaker is former Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who won a congressional seat in Taguig City. “Naging speaker siya, namili ba siya?” Suarez asked, referring to Alvarez’s accusation. Suarez added: “Nakakasira sa House iyon.” The Quezon governor-elect said he has never been approached by anyone for a bribe offer during speakership races. In a television interview, Velasco vehemently denied offering money to get elected as speaker. Instead, the Marinduque solon said he offered to his colleagues a better deal if elected as speaker. “My promise to my colleagues I will not slash any budget that is allotted to their district because I am a district congressman, I know how important it is to have a budget for my district because each district has its own needs so definitely I have to protect the budget for each district of each congressman,” he stated. Velasco, son of retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbiterio Velasco, offered “stability” of leadership in the Lower House. “Well, I just want to offer to my colleagues stability in the leadership while you get the stability through the respect and support from my colleagues,” he said.
House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez(HoR / MANILA BULLETIN) Suarez, a staunch supporter of Representative-elect Martin Romualdez, warned that accusations of bribery over the speakership post could put the Lower House and its members in bad light before the public. In radio and television interviews on Monday, Alvarez accused two lawmakers of allegedly offering bribes of P500,000 to P1 million to secure the votes of colleagues in the race for the top Lower House post. However, the former House leader has refused to name who is offering money in exchange for votes, saying that the information was relayed to him by his “colleagues”. Alvarez is seeking to regain the seat that was taken from him when the Lower House declared his position vacant during a coup staged by the majority of congressmen last July 2018. Together with Marinduque Rep. Lord Alan Velasco and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Alvarez will represent PDP-Laban in the speakership race. In the regular press conference of the House minority, Suarez declared his support for Romualdez, who heads Lakas-CMD of which the minority leader is a member. Also running for speaker is former Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who won a congressional seat in Taguig City. “Naging speaker siya, namili ba siya?” Suarez asked, referring to Alvarez’s accusation. Suarez added: “Nakakasira sa House iyon.” The Quezon governor-elect said he has never been approached by anyone for a bribe offer during speakership races. In a television interview, Velasco vehemently denied offering money to get elected as speaker. Instead, the Marinduque solon said he offered to his colleagues a better deal if elected as speaker. “My promise to my colleagues I will not slash any budget that is allotted to their district because I am a district congressman, I know how important it is to have a budget for my district because each district has its own needs so definitely I have to protect the budget for each district of each congressman,” he stated. Velasco, son of retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbiterio Velasco, offered “stability” of leadership in the Lower House. “Well, I just want to offer to my colleagues stability in the leadership while you get the stability through the respect and support from my colleagues,” he said.