Duterte will not abolish Congress, Mindanao lawmaker says

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -- President-elect Rodrigo Duterte will not initiate moves to abolish Congress, a Mindanao lawmaker said. 

 

Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat said he got a “personal assurance” from the tough-talking incoming president.

 

Lobregat, who is in Manila for meetings with fellow veteran lawmakers in the supermajority, made the statement in reaction to Duterte's past statements that he is willing to close down Congress if thet get in the way of his administration.

 

“When I personally met the president to congratulate him for his victory, I asked him the question: 'Mr. President, you have mentioned before the possibility of abolishing Congress?' He answered me:'I will not, kailangan ko ang suporta ng Congress,'" Lobregat said.

 

Lobregat said members of the 17th Congress have already discussed Duterte's assurance as well as his proposal to shift to a federal form of government.

But the lawmakers said that remains to be seen once Duterte assumes the presidency on Thursday.

 

Lobregat said the next president will be undertaking a major constitutional change, “which will be a tough battle in Congress.”

 

He added that while Duterte is pushing for federalism, it will still be the people who will decide in plebiscite or through a Constitutional commission.

 

The shift to federalism, which Duterte promised during the campaign, is believed to be a way to bring development to areas outside urban centers like the capital, which some refer to as "Imperial Manila." Creating separate states under a federal government based in Manila will allow for regional development since the states will have more say in how money is spent and on what projects to focus on, supporters of federalism say.

 

The shift will also necessarily reconfigure the country's legislature. 

 

 

Some members of the House have been trying to join the supermajority, or have left their parties to join Duterte's PDP-Laban.

 

Lobregat, for his part, said he will not jump ship but will stay loyal to the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, which supported Duterte in the May elections.

 

Lobregat and President-elect Duterte have strong ties and are long-time friends. Both have served as mayors and were together in the Mayors' League as well as in the 11th Congress, when Duterte was briefly a legislator.