Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos Floated for House Majority Leader Position
SANDRO MARCOS – The presidential son is “very much qualified” to be the next House Majority Leader as per La Union Representative Paolo Ortega V.
Amid the set opening of the 20th Congress on July 28, there are speculations on who might take the key positions in the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the Senate, the race for the Senate presidency is seen to be between Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero and incoming Sen. Tito Sotto, also a former Senate president.
In the House of Representatives, House Speaker Martin Romualdez is poised to retain the House speakership after 278 congressmen signed formal support for him. Deputy Speaker Quezon 2nd district Rep. David “Jay-Jay” Suarez claimed that there are actually 285 congressmen who assured Romualdez of their support.
With regards to the next House Majority Leader, based on a report on GMA News, presidential son and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos is said to be “very much qualified” for the position. According to La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V, there are many qualified members and Marcos is one of them.
“The name of Senior Deputy Majority Leader Marcos is being floated around. He is very much qualified. But we’ll see, since there are many qualified members of the House for leadership positions. And regardless of the title, we need to see the work ethic. That is all I know so far,” he said.
Ortega recognized that seniority is a factor in choosing the people who will occupy the leadership positions in the House of Representatives but stressed that there are other considerations. Based on the report, he also stressed that the newbies in the 19th Congress were provided enough training.
“It is also about being responsible, building relationships… We need teamwork to shepherd the passage of bills. The wealth of experience is considered, but it is combined with other factors,” the lawmaker said.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos sat as the Senior Deputy Majority Leader of the House on his first term as lawmaker in the lower chamber. It is led by his uncle, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who is the cousin of his father, Pres. Bongbong Marcos.
With regards tp the Senate presidency, several senators and incoming lawmakers in the upper chamber have announced their support for Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero. According to Sen. Raffy Tulfo, he will support Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero as he does not see any problem with his leadership.
Sen. Joel Villanueva who previously claimed that at least 13 senators back Escudero is one of the lawmakers who is also against a change in the leadership. However, Sen. Migz Zubiri hopes for a new Senate president even if Escudero allegedly has 13 votes already.
Zubiri said the “veterans bloc” supports incoming Sen. Tito Sotto. The “Duterte bloc” has committed their support to the current leadership in the Senate.