Rep. Belmonte is confident he will win House Speakership

Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is confident he has more than enough supporters in the Lower House to clinch the speakership, which is set to be decided by the House on Monday. In GMA-7’s late-evening newscast “Saksi", Liberal Party’s (LP) Belmonte said he expects at least 220 votes for him versus his lone opponent, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman of Lakas-Kampi-CMD. “I expect mga 220 to 230. May NP, NPC, mga Lakas na nagbuo ng isang grupo, ang tawag nila ay Coalition for Peace and Development," Belmonte said in the newscast. (I expect around 220 to 230 votes for me. There’s Nacionalista Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, and Lakas members who formed a group which they call Coalition for Peace and Development.) To win the speakership, Belmonte needs at least 144 votes, as the lower House has 287 members including party-list representatives. The LP on Friday held a fellowship night with its members and those from the other parties who are likewise expected to support Belmonte’s bid for the speakership. Among those who shifted to or allied themselves with LP who attended the fellowship night were Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao and Bacolod Rep. Anthony Golez. Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, who was also present, was given particular mention by President Benigno Aquino III when he delivered the opening remarks for the gathering. In light of Belmonte’s apparently inevitable victory, Lagman hinted at accepting his imminent defeat, saying his party Lakas is not going after its members who may choose to support his rival. "(If they) have opted to support another candidate, that's the freedom of space we are giving the party-mates," Lagman said in the same newscast. Political analyst Ramon Casiple thus believes the 15th Congress will be one that’s “Aquino-friendly," more so because it would be difficult to go against a popular President. He warned, however, that once Aquino’s popularity goes down, those who have allied themselves with LP may switch back to their old groups, including some from Lakas who have not really severed their ties with their party. He added LP members must also guard against former President Gloria Arroyo, who remains active in Lakas and is now a member of the lower House representing Pampanga’s second district. "Yung pagtakbo niya sa lower House is part of the plan (Her running for a lower House seat is still part of the plan). The plan still revolves on getting back to power. We see that (in her) first resolution," Casiple said. Arroyo’s first House resolution, which she filed on July 1, seeks to amend the 1987 Constitution through a constitutional convention. [See: Arroyo's 1st House resolution seeks to change Constitution] Earlier in the day, Arroyo was at a two-day workshop organized by Lakas, where Charter change was part of the agenda. There are at least 74 members of Lakas in the lower House, including those who have already expressed support for LP’s Belmonte—who was himself a member of Lakas until he defected to LP at the height of Aquino’s presidential campaign earlier this year.—JV, GMANews.TV