According to UPDP OIC Maj. Bernie V. Baltazar, administration officials requested that a fire truck be placed on standby tonight at the Pavilions in case of a possible re-ignition.
CMC Rep. Cornel confirmed via SMS that classes at A.S., Chemistry, and Physics Pavilions will remain suspended pending a safety assessment of the area.
While Belmonte boasts of confidence in winning the Speakership, he only has the support of 44 of 122 LP congressional candidates in Congress – a disadvantage in the battle for political allies, and thus technically reducing its mathematical chances.
However, more than a battle of gaining a seat in the House, there lies a battle of numbers in the race for the Speakership, when party ties and other political relationships are put to a test.
Notable absentees were the Arroyos (4), Jose de Venecia, Jovito Palparan, Ompong Plaza, Nikki Teodoro, Cynthia Villar, Amelita Villarosa, and Ronnie Zamora.
Because of the majority who ignored the final session last Friday, the 14th Congress has lost its last chance to redeem itself. It will be remembered as a Congress that favored government secrecy over transparency, filled with traditional politicians owing loyalty to a president submerged in accusations of corruption.
Today, the Freedom of Information Act hangs on the precipice, and the leaders of the House, on the threshold of either making history or being cast aside to its dustbin.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago—who was re-elected in May as a guest candidate of the Nacionalista Party (NP)—said in an interview Villar has about 12 senators rooting for his candidacy for the Senate leadership.
Escudero has been in the news lately with many senators labeling him as the “dark horse” in the race for Senate President. If elected Senate President he would go down as the youngest in history.
Drilon admitted in a television interview that he joined different coalitions before but he had never been a member of any political party other than the Liberal Party, which he joined in 2004 and became its president until 2008.