Senator Dick Gordon has made clear that his statement about the term-sharing for the Speakership at the House of Representatives as a “classic compromise” was not intended to criticize members of the House but was a call to protect the Constitution.
During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay at Café Adriatico recently, Gordon said congressmen should not involve President Rodrigo Duterte in deciding who will be the next House Speaker and keep their independence as an institution.
“Congressmen should keep their independence as an institution.”
“Bakit nila pinipilit makialam ang Pangulo? Kahit naman sino ang manalo diyan, susunod naman iyan kay Presidente. Classic compromise iyan. Maybe they just want inner peace within their institution that’s why they let the President decide,” the seasoned legislator said.
“The separation of powers should be respected so that there will be a system of checks and balances,” the veteran lawmaker added.
The senator said that the three branches of the government, which are the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial, should not meddle with each other’s roles.
“I would never ask the President to do that.”
“If I were a congressman, I would never ask the President to do that. But I would be very happy to see the term-sharing succeeds later,” he said.
The announcement about the term-sharing came during the oath-taking ceremony for newly-appointed officials in Malacañang.
With this arrangement, Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano will serve as Speaker of the 18th Congress for 15 months, while Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco will serve the remaining 21 months.
Meanwhile, Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez will be the House majority leader.