Sy-Alvarado steps down as chair of the House governance panel as changes continue under President Velasco

MANILA— Bulacan representative José Antonio Sy-Alvarado is retiring as chairman of the powerful House of Representatives Committee on Good Governance and Public Responsibility, with DIWA party list representative Michael Aglipay assuming office as more allies of the ousted president. roles on camera.

Aglipay was elected during the plenary session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The scion of Bulacan politicians, Sy-Alvarado has been among the most prominent allies of Cayetano, who was ousted from the helm of the House with the election of the Speaker of the House, Lord Allan Velasco, in October.

He had been featured prominently in the media, having led committee investigations on PhilHealth, the distribution of the Social Improvement Program, the cost of electricity sold by Meralco during the pandemic, the plight of repatriated Filipino migrants due to the COVID-19 crisis, as well as hearings on the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise and the 2021 national budget.

Aglipay, for his part, is the brother of the Undersecretary of Justice, Emmeline Aglipay Villar, which makes him the brother-in-law of the Secretary of Public Works, Mark Villar.

In a press release, Diwa Party-list welcomed his election and said that Aglipay has always believed that governments should be free from corruption.

In the same statement, Aglipay said: “Corruption in government is perhaps one of the greatest evils; it is what prevents the most vulnerable in society from being served even with the most basic needs. There is blood on the hands of a politician. corrupt every time a person dies unnecessarily because they could not access those basic needs. ”

Aglipay pledged to lead the committee to aggressively address corruption, focusing on the panel’s mandate in pursuit of a clean, corrupt, free and honest government.

He also expressed his heartfelt thanks to Velasco for his trust and confidence.

Aglipay belongs to a group of neophyte legislators who were among the first to declare their support for Velasco’s oratory.

Identifying itself as the “Yamasaki Bloc,” the group explained in October why they supported Velasco, citing his “youth leadership.”

“We have faith in Congressman Velasco’s ability to lead and unite the lower house as he truly represents the interest of the people of the Philippines,” they said previously.

Changes in the House have been ongoing since Velasco’s rise to the helm of the House in October.

Last week, the House of Representatives unanimously elected the representative of Cagayán de Oro Rufus Rodríguez as vice president in replacement of the representative of the second district of Capiz Fredenil Castro, the representative of the list of the Party of Buhay Lito Atienza was also elected vice president in replacement of the representative of Laguna Dan Fernández, and Camille Villar was also appointed vice president replacing the representative of Batangas, Raneo Abu. Villar eventually declined the position.

Castro and Fernández openly campaigned for the retention of the ousted president Alan Peter Cayetano. You may recall that Castro and Fernández made poignant speeches of privilege that affected Velasco’s aptitude, experience, and work ethic. Abu is also known as a staunch ally of Cayetano.

Cayetano had wanted to extend his stay as president despite a shared term agreement with Velasco. He was overthrown and Velasco prevailed.

The plenary also elected the representative of Caloocan Dale Along Malapitan as head of the contingent of the Electoral Tribunal of the House of Representatives to the vice president of Kabayan Ron Salo, another unconditional ally of Cayetano.

Earlier today, Atienza called on his colleagues to allow President Velasco to scrutinize and make changes in committee leaders to ensure efficiency.

Atienza said that Velasco cannot be prevented from changing presidency if incumbents are inefficient. He also said that the changes have not been massive and there are no great turnovers.

In the meantime, he explained that the performance audit of committee heads would not depend on party affiliations, as those who have worked hard would likely keep their positions.

Atienza said that some committees underperformed, noting that several measures did not move on some panels. He said this may be due to “human factors” that led previous House leaders to keep their posts.

Meanwhile, Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda said that throughout his time in the House, he has seen changes in speakers that led to massive changes in committee chairs.

Velasco is known to have made the fewest changes to committee chairmanship that Salceda has seen in his entire time as a legislator.

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