Veteran politician and incoming Davao Del Norte Rep. Bebot Alvarez confirmed on Friday that the PDP-Laban party is eyeing more coalitions in the Lower House which would also include the militant Makabayan bloc, to prop his bid for Speaker of the House of Representatives under the administration of Pres. Rody Duterte.
During an interview with the media, the former member of the Arroyo Cabinet, Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez said that he has talked with the Makabayan block hoping that it would align with the majority after one of the country’s most dominant political party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition signed a coalition agreement with the ruling PDP-Laban. The coalitions with the Makabayan bloc will be without terms according to the presumptive House Speaker.
The militant group Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives are composed of militant party-lists Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Kabataan, Anakpawis and Alliance of Concerned Teachers. They are now part of the minority bloc in the Lower House which did not not vote for incumbent Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., of the Liberal Party of the Philippines. According to Rep. Bebot Alvarez he wants the Makabayan bloc to support his candidacy as House Speaker.
Aside from the Makabayan bloc, the chosen candidate of Mayor Duterte as Speaker of the Lower House, also seeks the alliance of the National Unity Party, after PDP-Laban secured the support of the other major parties such as the NPC, the Nacionalistas, The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrat and even the party-list coalition which does not include the Makabayan bloc.
The Makabayan bloc on their part confirmed to the media through Makabayan President Satur Ocampo that the bloc met with Rep. Alvarez on Friday morning for a possible coalition to push for Duterte’s legislative agenda.
According to Mayor Duterte’s team some of his legislative plans include reinstating the capital punishment and revising the 1987 Philippine Constitution to pave the way for a Federal Form of Government in the Philippines. The camp of Mayor Duterte also confirmed that they are now eyeing to get the support of Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate to become a member of the Duterte cabinet as Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.