Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice yesterday demanded a purge in the majority bloc of all congressmen allied with Vice President Jejomar Binay, who recently resigned from the Aquino Cabinet to take over the leadership of the political opposition.
However, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. quickly rejected Erice’s call, saying that he considers Makati City Rep. Abigael Binay and eight other UNA members in the House majority bloc as “valuable allies”.
Belmonte and Erice are both members of the Liberal Party but appeared at odds over their respective choice for the party’s 2016 presidential bet.
While Belmonte had dropped hints he would support Senator Grace Poe to lead the 2016 presidential race for the party headed by President Benigno Aquino III, Erice is a loyal supporter of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas.
In a text message sent to House reporters, Belmonte said: “They are valuable allies.”
He stressed that whether or not Binay and other UNA members will bolt out of the majority bloc is a personal decision by each of them.
Erice, LP vice president for political affairs, said that Binay’s daughter, Makati City Rep. Abigael Binay and other congressmen belonging to the United Nationalist Alliance, a political party founded by the elder Binay, should now leave the majority coalition.
Erice also supported calls for the resignation of heads of housing agencies allied with Binay.
MANILA BULLETIN
