Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.: Creating a true House of the people

MANILA, Philippines - Shortly after Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. was elected representative of the fourth district of Quezon City last May 10, reports of him being the next Speaker of the House of Representatives were flying thick and fast. So it did not come as a surprise when he was voted by an overwhelming majority on July 26 as Speaker of the 15th Congress.

It is the second time for this former three-term Quezon City mayor to hold the fourth-highest post of the land. Belmonte was House Speaker for the 11th Congress in 2001.

Recalling the weeks before he was voted as Speaker, he says several factors led to his being head of the chamber, including the support of President Aquino and his party, the Liberal Party (LP), and his close friendships with lawmakers from all political persuasions as well as his track record in public service.

“Early in the game, we settled it inside the Liberal Party... There were several who were interested in it (Speakership), but we settled it early. At that point, if based on precedents, I had a very big chance,” Belmonte says. “And my chances were greatly enhanced by the fact that I knew a lot of congressmen, having served with them. A lot of us were returnees and they knew me already on a personal basis and they were not going to get unpredictable things, no unpredictable person (as Speaker).”

“With respect to the young people (lawmakers), of which we have so many, somehow my record as mayor of Quezon City for nine years and also as a civic leader must have enhanced my image to them,” he says.

He also credits his having taken on key leadership posts in the Lakas Kampi-CMD party since the time of former President Fidel Ramos until the chairmanship of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, thus many of his former party-mates voted for him for the top House post.

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“It is truly heart-warming and very humbling, that across the political spectrum, transcending political boundaries, new and old friends, even former political adversaries, chose to entrust me with the leadership of this chamber for the next three years,” Belmonte says.

In his first address before members of the chamber, Belmonte laid the groundwork upon which the House would build on the Filipinos’ renewed faith in government and reinforce the confidence of local and foreign businessmen whom he said “have become aggressive in their investment plans, and in the emerging resurgence of the Philippines, in the eyes of the global community.”

“While our constituencies may be different, we know that all are tied together by the common need of the Filipino people for a life that is free yet secure, economically vibrant, environmentally healthy, peaceful and socially accepting,” Belmonte says. “We must see to it that the House of Representatives contributes to this remarkable crest of change, and works further to maximize the advantages we are beginning to gain.”

“Our mandate is to make sure that our legislative agenda not only fully supports our country’s resurgence, but further ignites it. Remember, decades ago, the Philippines was among the fastest growing countries of Asia, neck and neck with the leading economies. Pwede ba nating ambisyonin muli ito (Can we aim for this again)?” he says.

He says the first order of business is putting the House in order, as he did when he was mayor of Quezon City, which was saddled with billions of pesos in debt when he assumed office. After some years, not only the city’s debts were paid, it also became one of the richest cities in the country.

“In all my years in public service, I have always observed prudence and judiciousness in the use and allocation of funds. During these times when the entire national government must function within tight financial restraints, it would be good practice to opt for ways to optimize resources, to get maximum public value for every peso budgeted and spent. We should continuously aim to promote higher levels of efficiency,” Belmonte told his colleagues at the opening of Congress.

Speaker Sonny Belmonte congratulates Pres. Aquino after his SONA as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile looks on.VAL RODRIGUEZ/STAR

In just 30 days, the chamber was able to organize itself and formed over 50 legislative committees. In previous Congresses, reorganization was completed as late as November. What was also pleasantly surprising, Belmonte says, is that there were virtually no grumblings among lawmakers with committee assignments and chairmanships. The House also saw over 2,000 bills and resolutions filed by its members as of August.

Due to the volume of the bills filed, he asked each of the four Deputy Speakers to divide the work among themselves to sift through all the measures and classify them in terms of subject and urgency, among others, to make the lawmaking process faster and more efficient.

Belmonte also aims to set the record straight on the controversial pork barrel system that he describes as a “great equalizer.”

“There are numerous places in this country that are not covered by the government’s national infrastructure program so the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) somehow fills the gaps,” he says. “The use of PDAF should engender no suspicion, but general agreement that they are used widely to give each district a socio-economic lift, through greater transparency and focus on our projects,” he says.

No Special Treatment

Aside from the fact that this is yet the biggest House with 287 members, the chamber also has the distinction of having some celebrities as lawmakers, including Mrs. Arroyo; world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, representing the lone district of Saranggani; actress and Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez; Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla; Imelda Romualdez-Marcos as well as several legal and political heavyweights from prominent clans.

The Belmonte family at the Speaker’s his oath taking.JONJON VICENCIO/STAR

Belmonte, however, is unfazed by the number of celebrities under his wing, saying he would run the chamber with fairness and objectivity.

“I’m very confident that the image of the House will greatly improve. For one thing, I have no ambitions, so I can judge things objectively, without the added element of ‘will it help me in my political career or not,’ wala ‘yun. I’m only focused on doing well in this present position. I think that is a very big factor. I’m not a publicity grabber by nature, low key lang ako. I think that will augur well. The fact that we have so many new faces, many of them are super ready, very idealistic people, even our celebrities, if you will notice, all of them are anxious to be good public servants; all of them, without exception, taking extra steps to be good public servants. I think all of this augurs well for the chamber,” he says.

He credits the over 140 new lawmakers for helping revive the House. Many of them were among the first to deliver privilege speeches. “We have to harness their idealism and energy and their ambition, we have to allow them shine.”

Long Record Of Public Service

Belmonte began his stint as congressman in 1992 and held the post for three consecutive terms or nine straight years. He was Speaker of the House in 2001, and also served as House Minority Leader. In his first two terms, he was vice chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. During his term, he authored and co-authored several major bills, including creating the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Salary Standardization Law.

Prior to his foray into lawmaking, Belmonte built a reputation as a no-nonsense CEO successful at turning various struggling government corporations into profitable enterprises, especially when he was appointed by the late President Corazon Aquino as president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System, the Manila Hotel, and chairman of the National Reinsurance Corporation of the Philippines.

The STAR President and CEO Miguel Belmonte and Kagawad Zandy de Vega look on as Speaker Belmonte blows the candle on his cake Photos by Joey Flores

He also represented the government on the board of San Miguel and PLDT. He also once held the position of president and chief executive officer of Philippine Airlines, which was then wholly owned by the Philippine government.

Though he counts budgets and finances as well as governance and management as his expertise, he never fails to remember low-salaried employees, that was why he pushed for the passage of the second Salary Standardization Law to correct the deficiencies of the previous law.

He also pushed for the continued implementation of the Personal Economic Relief Alliance (PERA) for low-salaried government personnel.

From 2001 to 2010, Belmonte was mayor of Quezon City, during which time he was selected as the Most Outstanding Mayor of the Philippines by the Local Government Leadership Awards.

His three terms as chief executive of Quezon City was marked by “prudent fiscal management, aggressive tax management strategies, as well as increasing efficiency and growing discipline in the management and use of the city’s resources,” and this has made Quezon City the most competitive city in Metro Manila, and second in the Philippines.

Ranked by businessmen in the Philippines in studies of the Asian Institute of Management in cooperation with international agencies, Quezon City was ranked No. 7 Asian City of the Future in 2007, based on a survey commissioned by the London Financial Times through a consultancy based in Singapore. In a 2008 Tholons special report on global services, Quezon City ranked as the 21st emerging global outsourcing city, the highest among all nine new entrants.

As mayor, he made Quezon City a pioneer in many areas, including the first to computerize revenue collection and assessment functions; first to grant to barangays full-fiscal control over their share of real property tax collections; first LGU to develop an extensive and continuous training curriculum for barangay leaders; and first to use Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as biogas-reduction strategy, and revenue generation mechanism from waste.

Before joining government, he practiced law and engaged in civic activities. At the age of 16, he started working as a reporter for a national newspaper. In 1976, he was World President of Jaycess (JCI) International. He was also a three-time delegate of the Philippines to the International Labor Organization.

Back in the House, Belmonte says he is excited to lead the chamber composed of old and new friends, young faces and old foes. He says his experience as the Minority Floor Leader for two and a half years would help him in his job as Speaker.

He says those two and a half years were “worth remembering.” “Working with a small group of people, we were also 29 Lakas plus some allies. Keeping them intact and forging deep personal ties with them, we continue to be very close friends despite our political differences. I was a better candidate for Speaker this time because of that.”

He describes his election as Speaker as heart-warming and humbling.

“You have given me back a rare honor. Through your trust and confidence, I stand here once again as the Speaker of the House of the People. Thank you for your overwhelming support. Be assured that I will work hard to earn this confidence. I am confident that you will help me succeed since, in electing me, you have as much at stake as I have in this success,” he told his colleagues.

Belmonte says he is proud that since Congress opened, the quorum at the House never went below 200, which was unprecedented.

He cites the energy and enthusiasm of the neophyte lawmakers as one of the main reasons why the chamber has been working fast. The new lawmakers have been active on the floor as well as in committee hearings.

He says many of them, including Pacquiao, Mercado and Lanao Del Norte Rep. Fatima Aliah Dimaporo, have delivered privilege speeches on energy concerns, youth and women’s issues and the Mindanao peace process.

“We have a lot of bills of national importance already on the table, but as an overall objective, I think the alleviation of poverty, a self-sufficient, self-sustaining economy with competitiveness and a better life for all Filipinos would be the overriding objectives of this chamber,” he says. “In the area of anti-graft and integrity, I hope this would be a hallmark of the House.”

“Ours will be a progressive and forward-looking House, able to overcome self-interest to raise the Filipinos and the Philippines to a proud stature in the global ranking of nations,” he says.