LP starts securing numbers for House Speaker bet

TARLAC CITY, Tarlac — With the wide lead its standard-bearer, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, continues to enjoy over his rivals, the Liberal Party (LP) has started fielding its bet for House Speaker and getting enough numbers to back that bet. “You have to do your numbers now when the winners are getting clearer," said Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya said Thursday in an interview with reporters here. Abaya said the LP would most likely field Quezon City Representative-elect Feliciano Belmonte Jr. He may be up against President Arroyo, who has just been elected congresswoman of Pampanga's second district. Abaya said a “small group" of LP congressmen had already met and agreed that there is no need to recruit colleagues from other parties, at least for now. But when asked about the possibility of the LP forming alliances with other political groups amid the prospect of Mrs. Arroyo gunning for the Speakership, Abaya said, “Probably." Earlier this week, Mrs. Arroyo’s brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo Jr., said Mrs. Arroyo is likely to gun for the House Speakership. Mrs. Arroyo’s critics claimed she is running for congresswoman and will have her allies push for a shift to a parliamentary form of government, under which she can run for Prime Minister. - KBK, GMANews.TV