Batasan bull’s eye: GMA, Recto, Alvarez, Velasco reportedly backing presidential bets with speakership as payback

Some top politikos running for a congressional seat have been making alliances amid the jostling for the 2022 presidential race to boost their chances of becoming House Speaker in the next administration.

It’s an open secret that the President anoints the House Speaker even though the speakership is decided by a majority vote of lawmakers.

This is the reason why Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez won as Speaker in 2016 even though the ruling PDP-Laban only had two members in the House after that year’s national elections.

READ: Hindi pwede ‘yung may tililing! Alvarez says presidential bets must not only have ‘heart’ to serve but also stable mental health

Alvarez hopes to reclaim his old post in the 19th Congress by betting on the tandem of Senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente “Tito” Sotto.

Lacson is the new chairman of Partido Reporma, which was revived by Alvarez years after it was founded by former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa.

A Politiko source said Senator Ralph Recto is backing Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s presidential bid because he aims to become the Speaker after running to succeed his wife, Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos, in the House.

READ: Ralph Recto, Vilma Santos endorse Mayor Isko-Doc Willie tandem in 2022: Public service with ‘heart, hope and action’

Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, the incumbent Speaker, is leaning towards supporting Senator Manny Pacquiao’s presidential bid in exchange for retaining his post in the 19th Congress, Politiko’s source said.

Velasco is reportedly betting on Pacquiao as a fallback in case Davao City mayor Sara Duterte doesn’t run for president.

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose congressional comeback has been confirmed, also has her eyes set on the speakership but is adamant about supporting only Duterte.

READ: No room for retirement! GMA eyes another term as Speaker in Congress comeback

Should the feisty Davao mayor enter and win the presidential race, Politiko’s source said she will likely follow her father’s Solomonic solution and share the Speaker’s term between Velasco and Arroyo.

In a novel twist, a senator will reportedly decide the speakership should former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. run for president and win.

Politiko’s source said Senator Imee Marcos would decide who will lead the House if her brother ends up in Malacanang.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)