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InDune Young Duterte poised for NUP leadership?
WffIlOW FilR. WTTHOW FAVOR
Ttre mass PDP withdrawal will reduce the PDP-Laban
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Tuesdav, 6 August 201 9
' to 65 from its the current 95 congressmen
DailY Tribune
Frun page I current 95 congressmen.
the leadership of the National Unity
Young Duterte poised
Parby (NUP) to fill the void created
by the resignation of Capiz Second
'District
Rcp. Fredenil Castro.
Castro cited propriety in his
for NUP leadership? ''r
decision to leave the NUP, further
sayingthat he found it inappropriate
ByEncrll. ilhpl ,
to stay with the par{y after he went
I
against its decision to back Tagurg
Don't look now, but the ruling Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano who went
i
Partido Demokratio Pilipino (PDP) r on to win the speakerchip.
at the House of Representatives I He admitted backing Leyte Rep.
/
finds itself on shalryground as Maxtin Romualdez, who accepted
Davao CWRep. Paolo Duterte fffi Cayetbno's offer to become the
is poised to take over the 'giffi House Mqiority Floor I4ader for the
rwn"rynx*-lE whole three yea,ts left in hesider,t
Rodrigo Duterte's tenu.
The other cardidatel Marinduque
Rep. Iord Allan Velasco who is also
a PDP stalwart, will have to wait'
l5 months before he assumes the
speakership.
But Velasco's turn, based on
Cayetano's so-called "Magellan
formula' of l5 months for tdm and
DUTERTE
21 months for Velasco, now seerns
t\ y@ilr pAwtl in peril as 30 other PDP members
axe no$' also said to be leaving the
hesident's party.
The PDP exodus, reports
said, was sparked by Cayetano's
distribution of committee posts.
The PDP was among those who
supported Cayetano after Velasco
had agreed to step aside and honor
the termsharing formula.
Ttre mass PDP withfuawal will
reduce the PDP to 65 from its the
The NUP, meanwhile, will
raise its membership to about 50
congressmen, gearing the party
Jowards a possible power shift in
the near future.
uI
feel that I could no longer be
effective a"s a member of the pafly,
as president ofthe par{y, because I
took the opposite direction during
the speakership race," Castro said.
The former House mqiorityleader
also said he "catutot associate" with
lawmakers who "during the time
that Alan Peter was not yet clear
of winning as Speaker of the House,
theywere also campaigning against
Cayetano. But after his election as
Speaker, you seethemthere asking,
requesting, pleading for a position
or chairmanships.n
Castro cited propriety in
his decision to leave the
NUB further sayrng that he
found it inappropriate to
stay with the party after
he went against its decision
to back Taguig Rep. Alan
Peter Cayetano who went
on to win the speakership.
He also denied that his
resignation was driven by fear of
the President's son replacing him
as party leader.
*I did not even hear before
my resignation that Congressman
Duterte was entering the National
Unity Party,' he said. He cited thaf
there is a *6G60' chance the NIIP
can emerge as a m4ior Housg power
due to the recent developments.
*While it is true that Polong
Duterte could be a member or is
prospectively a member of the NUP.
still PDP is the President's political
parly,'he explained.
Castro said he is "inclinedn
to join Romualdez's party, the
Lakas{hristian Muslim Demoirats
(Lat€s{MD).
"I am still thinking whether my
principle and my kind of politics
wouldjive with Lakas,n he said.
However, he admitted that he
would not have quit the NIIP had
Velasco won as speaker.
{he reason is simple. Iord Allan
Velasco was not the candidate of the
Natlonal Umty Party. fiterefore,
there was absolutely no reason
for me to be resigning considering
that I did not take an inconsistent
position with that of my political
party,'Castro said.
Meanwhile, DepW Speaker and
NIIP pa.rty stalwart Roberto Puno
also on Monday revealed thaf the
hesident's son may take the NIJP
leadership.
*I think as much as possible,
we'd like Paolo Duterte to take a
position within the Nationat Unity
Party,o Puno said, noting that the
NUP is set to mcet on Tuesday at a
hotel in Quezon CiW to elect their
national officers.
Currently, there are 50
NUP members in the House of
- an increase firom
Repesertatirres
pwious 2i afterthe 2019 eledions.
the
Puno said they would like their
membership to stay within that
i
number.
]
"Internally, we have decided notl
too much more than 50, that should
be a good enough number. Because
beyond that, from erperience, NW
has not wanted to go beyond that,'
he said.
Castro also denied thet
his resignation was driven
by fear of the President's
son replacing him as party
leader.
uln
the 17th Congress, we ended
the elections with 60 NUP members
and even that was a little unwieldy
already in the opinion of the pafty
leadership," he added. ,r
Puno attributes the increase
in their membership to their
reputation of. having "closeknit"
membets.
"We have shared principles and
that we have common goals. I'd
like to think that people look at our
pa,rty and see that this is something
that they'd like to join, and we have
always taken a pffi position and
deliver our par{,y position,' he said.
As far as Puno is concerned, the
transfer of some PDP members to
NUP would not have much effect
on the former's hold as the biggest
political party in the House of
Representatives.
"For me, PDP remains as the
ruling par{y. PDP remains as the,
par{y in Congress with the largest
number of members. Ttrat won't
change andbecause itwon't change,
then there'll be no change in the
party positions," he stressed.