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A veteran lawmaker on Tuesday urged Speaker Prospero Nograles and
his advisers in the House of Representatives to reconsider their
plans of carrying out a revamp of major committees.
The lawmaker, known as an ally of Jose de
Venecia Jr., warned his colleagues that the move could lead to
President Gloria Arroyo’s ouster through a fourth impeachment
complaint that the opposition might file this year.
An officer of the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim
Democrats party, and head of a powerful House body, the lawmaker
also said on condition of anonymity that any move to disturb the
status quo in the chamber could be ”counterproductive and might
trigger disunity” among the Congressmen-allies of the President.
“President Arroyo will be in the receiving end
of any move to further destroy the administration alliance in the
chamber,” said the solon that stuck it out with former de Venecia
even after the latter was booted out from the top House position.
The veteran lawmaker said the filing of an
impeachment case this year can be expected from the opposition, and
it might succeed if “many of the President’s allies are made to
suffer the same fate as de Venecia.”
“We had expected the so-called ‘reform
group’ to be magnanimous in victory when they succeeded in
changing the House leadership. Pursuing a revamp when everybody is
performing well is like pushing us to the wall,” he explained.
House leaders allied with Nograles reportedly
met last week to finalize plans to carry out a revamp of major
committees in the chamber, by replacing chairmen who voted last
February to retain de Venecia as Speaker.
At least 11 committee chairmen and four
positions in the Commission on Appointments and the House of
Representatives Electoral Tribunal are expected to be affected by
the reorganization.
Majority Floor Leader Arthur Defensor, who voted
against de Venecia’s retention, has reportedly been requested to
head the Appointments commission to pave the way for the entry of
Senior Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales in his place.
Defensor rejected the offer outright.
The fate of three deputy speakers who rejected
Nograles’ assumption of the speakership has not been made known.
They are Eric Singson, Simeon Datumanong and Raul del Mar.
Since his ascension to the top House post,
Nograles had rejected calls by members of the so-called “reform
block” to carry out a revamp that would rid the chairmen who
fought off the bid to unseat de Venecia.
In fact, Nograles sat on the resignation papers
of Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, chairman of the Committee on
Public Information; and La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, head of the
Constitutional Revision Panel.
-- Sammy Martin
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