Speaker: Second wave of House purge in May

MANILA, Philippines -  It’s just the beginning.

There will be a second wave of purging in the House of Representatives when Congress resumes its sessions on May 2, or after the lawmakers enjoy their Holy Week break, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez disclosed yesterday.

Alvarez said in a television interview that some positions have not yet been declared vacant and so the process of replacing those who voted against the death penalty would have to continue.

He stressed that those removed from their posts would be replaced by members from their respective political parties belonging to the super majority coalition.

But the Liberal Party (LP) sees the House majority’s move as a “disturbing indicator” of the administration’s “dangerous slide toward authoritarianism.”

“The Liberal Party is concerned; kicking out the ‘no’ voters from House leadership positions betrays the administration’s intolerance to dissent,” the LP said in a statement, noting that “we are in a democracy and not a dictatorship.”

“Just because you oppose certain issues backed by the administration doesn’t mean that an elected official is now an enemy or should be punished or stripped of a committee,” the LP stated.

Alvarez and members of the super majority coalition made good their threat to remove former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as deputy speaker along with 11 committee chairpersons because of their stand against the death penalty, which the House passed on third and final reading early this month with 217 votes.

The LP aired its disappointment over the suppression of arguments on the proposals to restore the death penalty in the country, which should have taken place as part of the democratic process.

It noted that only seven out of the 25 members of the House who lined up to interpellate on the death penalty bill were allowed to say their piece during the plenary debates on the issue.

“The Speaker’s action is divisive and detrimental to the character of Congress as an independent and deliberative institution. In a democracy, dissent must be met with thoughtful reasoning, not political retribution,” it added.

But Alvarez said in another television interview that those stripped of their positions because of their stand against the death penalty would remain members of the super majority coalition, “unless they resign.”

He stressed members must toe the line of the majority and those who opt to be independent-minded could do so without expecting to keep their leadership positions or committee chairmanships.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman of LP, titular head of the so-called House independent opposition bloc composed of only seven members, warned that replacing a House leader or committee chairman who went against the wishes of the majority with another partymate is a “double-edged sword.”

This is because it will “mollify the party by enticing it to remain with the majority coalition by giving it the opportunity” to keep chairmanships; and “drive a wedge within the party by pitting one member against another.”

“No party worth its salt should fall prey to this malevolent scheme,” Lagman said. “Since Speaker Alvarez has made good his threat after days of procrastination, any plea for magnanimity not to push through with the revamp is pointless.”

“Bold and decisive moves of the political parties and members affected must be the answer to the vindictiveness and tyranny of the House leadership in suppressing dissent and free will,” he added.

The House revamp came after a reorganization was instituted in the Senate also by the members of the majority bloc, who voted to remove members of the LP from their group.

Sen. Franklin Drilon was removed as Senate president pro tempore while Sens. Francis Pangilinan, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Risa Hontiveros lost their committee chairmanships after they attended the 30th EDSA people power anniversary celebration on Feb. 25 and expressed opposition to various issues as well as the arrest and detention of Sen. Leila de Lima, an LP member, on drug charges.

Though Hontiveros is not a member of the LP, she is allied with the party.

The LP emphasized that it tried to work with the administration but “uniting behind it appears to have become more and more untenable because we are unable to support and defend a number of its policies, including its failure to address the thousands of extrajudicial killings, among others.”

“Instead of uniting the nation, the more it becomes divided because of forcible actions. This weakens and not strengthens democracy,” it added.

The members of the LP vowed to continue their work as legislators, with or without committee chairmanships, and “endeavor a society free of fear and poverty and where all are able to make their dreams come true.”

Malacañang distanced itself from the House purge.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the House leaders were the ones who decided to implement leadership changes in the chamber.

“We start from the premise that the legislative is treated as an independent branch from the executive,” Abella said in a press briefing.

“The ongoing movement in committee chairmanships is left to the discretion of the House leadership. The majority bloc wants to place colleagues who are supportive of the priority bills of the government,” he added.

Erap backs death penalty

While Arroyo obviously fell from grace, former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada reiterated his support for the imposition of capital punishment on drug-related offenses being pushed by President Duterte and his allies.

Estrada also stood as one of the sponsors in the baptism of Duterte’s grandson, Marco Digong “Stonefish” Carpio.

Estrada pointed out the reimposition of the death penalty would serve as an antidote to the rising number of heinous crimes, particularly those committed by offenders who are under the influence of drugs.

Estrada said illegal drugs remain a big threat to the country’s peace and order and security.

House Bill 4727 limits the imposition of death sentence to drug-related crimes only but Estrada said all heinous crimes should be included in the death penalty law.

“Fathers raping their own daughters, a mother strangles all her babies to death, it’s sad. Where can you see that? It’s all because of drugs,” Estrada said.

Estrada cited a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) report showing that in Metro Manila alone, 92 percent of crimes committed are related to drugs.

He said illegal drugs proliferated because of the involvement of corrupt politicians who use drug money for their political interests.

“And why are big drug (laboratories) in the provinces spreading? Why? Because during election time, (campaign funds of) governors, congressmen, mayors, councilors and even barangay chairmen…come from drug lords,” Estrada said.

It was during Estrada’s presidency when Leo Echegaray, a house painter, was executed via lethal injection on Feb. 5, 1999 for repeatedly raping his stepdaughter, becoming the first convict to be executed since the re-imposition of the death penalty in 1993 under the Ramos administration.

Six more convicts were later put to death.

The death penalty was subsequently abolished in June 2006 during the term of Arroyo.

Abella said Arroyo remains an ally of Duterte despite her opposition to the death penalty bill.

“We appreciate and respect that Representative Arroyo remains steadfast in her position to issues that are close to her heart, such as her opposition to the death penalty, but at the same time, is able to throw her support to the President’s drive against drugs, criminality and corruption,” Abella said. – With Alexis Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano