Neophyte lawmaker to Dutertes, allies: Don't pretend to be the opposition
Vice President Sara Duterte and Congressman Pulong Duterte attend a thanksgiving mass at the Carmelite Church in Lanang, Davao City on May 17, 2025. Photo: Office of the Vice President
Vice President Sara Duterte's wish for her brother, Davao City lawmaker Paolo "Pulong" Duterte, to vie for the top opposition post in the House is a smokescreen to keep power, Kabataan Partylist representative-elect Renee Co said Wednesday.
Over the weekend, the Vice President said that her brother should vie for the speakership or, failing that, the House Minority Leader position.
"Fantasy 'yan sila. Threatened ang mga Duterte na mawalan ng kapit sa poder kung tuluyang matanggal sa pwesto si Sara at ma-convict si Digong, kaya biglang pepwesto si Pulong,' Co said.
(That is their fantasy. Their family just feels threatened that they could lose grip on power if the Vice President is removed from office, and former President Rodrigo Duterte is convicted [in The Hague], so they want to put Pulong in position.)
'Huwag silang magpanggap na oposisyon. Kailangan na talaga magpasa ng Anti-Political Dynasty Bill para hindi na nilalaro ng mga pami-pamilya ang mga posisyon sa gobyerno. Hindi dapat chessboard ng mga pamilyang Marcos at Duterte ang Kongreso,' Co added.
(They should stop claiming to be the opposition. That is why we need to pass the Anti-Political Dynasty bill into a law, so that elective positions in government are not being played around with by families. Congress should not be a chessboard for the Duterte and Marcos families.)
GMA News Online has reached out to Congressman Duterte for comment.
In a separate press conference also on Wednesday, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros said that she will not join an opposition bloc composed of the allies of former President Duterte in the 20th Congress.
'Well, wala po akong planong sumali sa isang Duterte bloc. Kung makukuha nila 'yung label ng minority, may option pa rin po ako or kami, kung mag-decision po kami, na [maging] isang independent bloc na magpapatuloy talaga sa pag-check and balance, magpapatuloy sa pag-fiscalize, at pati sa labas ng Senado. Magpapatuloy sa pagbubuo ng oposisyon [sa mga] Duterte at sa kina Presidente [Marcos],' Hontiveros said during Kapihan sa Senado.
(I have no plans of joining the Duterte bloc. If they emerge as the minority bloc, we have the option to decide to be an independent bloc, to continue the checks and balances, to fiscalize inside and outside of the Senate halls. The building of an opposition bloc against Duterte and President Marcos will continue.)
Hontiveros will gain two allies in the Senate with the return of Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno 'Bam' Aquino IV. — BM, GMA Integrated News
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