CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymond Villafuerte yesterday defended presidential son Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos III from the criticism that his election as senior deputy majority leader was due to his political pedigree.
Saying that the allegation was unfair, Villafuerte insisted that Marcos’ election was a unanimous decision of the supermajority coalition “that underscored Marcos’ intimate knowledge of the legislative process and familiarity with practically all of the re-elected congresspersons on their second or third terms in office.”
“Sandro’s excellent grasp of how the legislative process works in the Philippine Legislature and his striking familiarity with practically all lawmakers in the House who have been here since the past two Congresses easily obscure his status as a first-time legislator and has earned him the right to his current post with the unanimous support of the super majority coalition,” said Villafuerte, a veteran lawmaker from the Nacionalista Party (NP).
Neophyte Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel has earlier raised the issue of nepotism against Marcos’ election, saying the 28-year-old presidential son was obviously installed to the position “because of his surname, because he’s a son of the one occupying Malacañang now.”
The House is led by Sandro’s uncle Speaker Martin Romualdez whose wife Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez chairs the powerful committee on accounts which is in charge of the annual budget of the lower chamber.
The young Marcos was nominated to the position by the majority bloc despite being a neophyte lawmaker, breaking the tradition of giving top positions in the House leadership to senior members.
As senior deputy majority leader, Marcos will be a member of the powerful House committee on rules, which is chaired by majority leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe.
Villafuerte, who had worked closely with Marcos as a deputy speaker for finance in the previous 18th Congress, said he could vouch for the qualification of the 28-year-old presidential son.
The Bicolano lawmaker said that probably unknown to those not currently or previously connected with the House is that Marcos was on the legislative staff of the Speaker when Romualdez was majority leader in the previous Congress.
He said that Marcos had taken his job “as Romualdez’s protege and key legislative aide seriously in the past legislative session to the point that he had tirelessly backstopped the then-majority leader and liaised with senior legislators and bill proponents in the passage of major laws such as the annual General Appropriations Acts (GAAs) and the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.”
“Speaker Martin (Romualdez), who was then-majority leader, assigned Sandro to work with me in the sponsorship of the annual budgets of certain government offices and in the passage of Bayanihan 1 & 2, of which I was the lead author in the House,” he said. “We had burned the midnight oil together on countless occasions on these major pieces of legislation and that’s where I had observed first-hand his dedication to his job and his evolving keen grasp of the legislative process. My staff can attest to Sandro’s dedication to his job as he had worked with us on then-pending measures at my Batasan office often until the wee hours,” Villafuerte said.
“Having worked with him for three years as Speaker Martin’s protege prior to Sandro’s election as congressman, I can honestly say that Sandro is even more knowledgeable about how the Congress works than some of our peers on their second or third terms — and is certainly qualified to be our senior deputy majority leader,” he said.
Villafuerte said he had also realized when they were working together that Marcos had similar close relations with other House members when Romualdez was majority leader, “and this familiarity with legislators who have been reelected in the 19th Congress will come in handy in his current position as senior deputy floor leader and vice chairman of the House committee on rules.”
“If he will work now as hard as he had worked at the then-majority leader’s office in the previous Congress, I am certain he will do a great job as senior deputy majority leader to the satisfaction of our super majority coalition,” he said.
