Arroyo ally to become chief House ‘disciplinarian’

Allies of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be in charge of disciplining erring members of the House of Representatives. In an interview with reporters Wednesday, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said he will give the chairmanship of the ethics committee to a member of the minority bloc in order to be "transparent." "For the first time, for the interest of transparency in the House, it is my intention to turn over the committee on ethics, which has something to do with the internal discipline of the House, to the minority," he said. He refused to name who will head the committee, but sources said it would most likely be Siquijor Rep. Orlando Fua. Belmonte said the minority bloc, composed of 27 members with Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman as their leader, did not ask for the committee. "They never requested for this. They never requested a single one. Let me just make it plain that nobody requested anything. I offered this to the minority," he said. The former Quezon City mayor, however, said that no other committees were offered to the minority bloc. "Traditionally, all committees belong to the majority," he said. Belmonte admitted they have yet to finalize the committee chairmanships. "Basically, I would say 80 percent [completed], but I would not like to mention them here. But let me just tell you that next week, we will be able to complete the whole thing," he said. Belmonte said they are filling up first the standing and special committees. "The oversight committees are not being filled immediately because we want to study their work and their function and so forth." - Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMANews.TV