MANILA, Philippines — Former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez yesterday threatened to file libel charges against The STAR for publishing an article that lumped him together with members of the chamber’s minority bloc. “Libel case to be filed against STAR and Delon Porcalla,” read a press release of the Davao del Norte congressman, based on Monday’s story entitled “House minority decimated” where its “tenor is that I supposedly joined the House minority.”“The claim that I joined the minority, or one of the three (3) minority blocs, is not true. First of all, I am not part of the minority and, consequently, cannot be part of any minority bloc,” he maintained. “I am not part of any of those minority blocs.”“Instead, I am an independent member of the House,” Alvarez insisted, which meant he does not belong to the 284-strong super majority coalition despite being secretary-general of President Duterte’s PDP-Laban. “As for my membership, be it majority, minority or otherwise, the last paragraph of Rule II, Section 8 categorize members who opted for a course of action resulting into membership categorized as independent,” Alvarez clarified.

Source: Philippine Star October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC