Lagman: ‘Allow critical dissent, independence for the minority’

Reelected Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman urged the incoming administration to allow independence of the House minority.

“I am urging the incoming administration not to [appoint] a Minority Leader in the House of Representatives as an adjunct of the majority coalition,” Lagman said in a news release.

While that is often the strategy, according to Lagman, an independent and vibrant minority will allow for critical dissent to flourish even if there are only a handful of minority representatives.

“Legislation must pass deliberate consultation as well as the furnace of serious debate,” he said, adding: “The hallmark of a deliberative assembly is the genuine existence and steadfast advocacy of the minority.”

Meanwhile, reelected Representative Martin Romualdez has been endorsed by the National People’s Coalition party for House Speaker in the 19th Congress. The NPC has 39 members in the House of Representatives.

Romualdez was also endorsed by former president and reelected Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The party-list lawmakers that will be taking the around 60 seats in the 19th Congress have also expressed support for his speakership bid, except for Kabataan, Gabriela, and ACT Teachers Party-lists.