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The House of Representatives will convene for the first time in the current 20th Congress tomorrow, Monday, July 28, on the day of President Marcos' fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA).
While all eyes and ears will be directed toward the President’s scheduled speech on Monday afternoon, the most consequential event will take place during the morning plenary session of the House members.
This being the first ever session day of the first regular session, the congressmen will elect their leader for the 20th Congress, or their Speaker of the House.
If the reports from the past few weeks are anything to go by, Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez, the Speaker during the previous 19th Congress, will once again secure the chamber’s top post and fourth most powerful position in the country.
Iloilo 1st district Rep.. Janette Garin recently claimed that at least 291 House members have signed a manifesto of support for Romualdez's continued Speakership. There are at least 313 total House lawmakers.
Romualdez is the president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the certified most dominant party in the country. He commands goodwill across all other major potlical parties, including party-list groups.
Several solons have also taken to Facebook in the past few days to voice out their support for Romualdez.
So, barring a last-minute upheaval of epic proportions, President Marcos will get his top lieutenant back as the leader of the House, providing crucial legislative muscle to his supposed "lame duck" years in Malacañang before he steps down in 2028.
Who will be named majority leader?
Less clear-cut is the position of House majority leader, or the right-hand man of the Speaker. If continuity would be followed a la Romualdez’s reelection as House head honcho, then presidential son Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos would be the logical choice.
During the previous Congress, Rep. Marcos served as senior deputy majority leader, or the postion directly below the majority leader. He has not publicly addressed this issue despite public endorsements from Garin and fellow "Young Guns" bloc member, La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V.
At only 31 years old, Rep. Marcos might become the youngest House majority leader in history. Garin and Ortega have said that the younger Marcos was qualified.
Opposite the majority leader is the House minority leader, a position to be assumed by 4PS Party-list Rep. Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan. Libanan held the same title during the 19th Congress.
If recent history will be followed, Libanan will be elected as minority leader during a separate vote on a subsequent session day, most likely within the week.
It was early July when 26 House members endorsed Libanan as minority leader, and signed a separate manifesto expressing this. Libanan had a good working relationship with the Romualdez leadership during the past three years.
Groups to watch out for
It remains to be seen if the House will have its own version of a "Duterte bloc", like in the Senate.
The potential core of this anti-Marcos grouping are Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte, brother of Vice President Sara Duterte; his son, Davao City 2nd district Rep. Omar Duterte; and his cousin, PPP Party-list Rep. Harold Duterte.
Another group to keep an eye on are the self-styled "House Hotshots" composed of Tingog Party-list Rep. Andrew Julian Romualdez, FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe, Batangas 6th district Rep. Ryan Recto, Negros Occidental 3rd district Rep. Javier Miguel "Javi" Benitez, and Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste.
It will be interesting to see how they will differentiate themselves from the other youth clique in the chamber, the Young Guns.
Young Guns stalwart Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong says he looks forward to working with the Hotshots.
'New normal'
The House of Representatives hosts the annual SONA. The speech is delivered before a joint session of Congress (House and the Senate) at the spacious House plenary hall.
Monday's event will feature unprecedented austerity measures as solons led by Romualdez called for a simpler SONA in light of the recent typhoons and floods that left countless Filipinos suffering. Most obvious scrapped is the red carpet gala or "fashion show" of guests.
But there are some like Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima and Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne "Jam" Baronda who said that such changes shouldn't be a one-and-done deal.
"Calls for simpler SONA outfits and sober occassion should not only be to commiserate with our fellow Filipinos who were affected by flooding but should be the new normal in the SONAs to come to bring more focus to the substance—the speech of the President—instead of the form of the occassion," Baronda said.
"Nakikiisa po tayo sa panawagan na gawing simple ang paghahanda at pagdaraos ng SONA. Hindi rin dapat gawing simple lang ito ngayong taon dahil may kalamidad, kundi dapat sa lahat na ng gagawing SONA," said De Lima.
(We stand in solidarity with the call to simplify the preparations and conduct of the SONA. It should not be made simple only this year due to calamities, but in all all future SONAs.)
"Sa lahat ng panahon, prayoridad naman talaga ng gobyerno na unahin ang taumbayan at gamitin ang mga resources ng gobyerno sa pagpapabuti ng kalagayan ng ating bansa (At all times, the government’s priority should truly be to put the people first and direct its resources toward improving the condition of our nation)," the former senator added.
