Rep. Belmonte elected as House Speaker

(Updated 1:27 p.m.) The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly, 227 against 29, for Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. as the House Speaker. 

The House session started at exactly 10 a.m. with Secretary General Marilyn Barua Yap presiding over the proceedings. 

Liberal Party (LP) secretary general and Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya nominated Belmonte while Representatives Bernadeth Herrera Dy, Arnulfo Fuentebella, Rolando Andaya, Jesus Crispin Remulla, and Vincent Crisologo seconded the motion. Belmonte went up against Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, who was nominated by fellow Lakas-Kampi-CMD member Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano, Rep. Danilo Suarez, and Rep. Augusto Syjuco Jr.
 
All in all, 258 House members attended the opening of the session and nearly 88 percent voted for Belmonte. Among those absent were former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Ilocos Sur Ronald Singson, who are both in Hongkong.

 Arroyo accompanied her husband for a medical check-up while Singson was arrested there for possessing illegal drugs. 


After the nomination, which lasted for at least an hour, the lawmakers were asked one by one for their choice. 

Belmonte voted for Lagman and so did Arroyo's sons — Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado 'Dato' Arroyo and Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo. 

 Other Lakas members and allies such as Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil, Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap, and Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado also voted for Lagman.

 Lagman, on the other hand, voted for Belmonte in accordance with the tradition to vote for one's rival. 

Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao voted for Belmonte and so did the representatives of militant partylist groups such as Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anakpawis, ACT Teachers, and Kabataan. In his acceptance speech, Belmonte said the House under his leadership will be independent and accountable “to each and every Filipino that we serve, to the laws that exist." He also vowed to strengthen the House by putting it in order. "I believe this internally driven review and improvement of systems and processes is a good formula to follow in this House. It will create a good foundation for a Philippine Congress… because it began to champion the change within itself, even as it looked beyond itself," he said. He urged his colleagues to be judicious and prudent in crafting the national budget. "Let us use our power of the purse to prod government agencies to meet their performance targets." Belmonte previously held the House's top post from Jan. 24, 2001 to June that same year. After that, he was elected as Quezon City mayor and served until June this year. He won as congressman of the city's fourth district during the recent May 10 polls. — VVP/RSJ, GMANews.TV