Erice said that Suarez clearly lost the battle for the minority post because he only had seven votes. Erice claimed that the majority was trying to manipulate the results by refusing to recognize Baguilat as the minority leader and allowing the minority bloc to conduct another vote just enable Suarez to win. ADVERTISEMENTErice also noted that Suarez was technically not a minority member because he voted for Alvarez as Speaker. MANILA — The messy fight for Minority Leader in the 17th Congress is expected to reach the Supreme Court if Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez would recognize Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez instead of the duly elected winner Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat. Supposedly, the second highest vote-getter in the election for Speaker automatically gets to be the Minority Leader.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 26, 2016 11:32 UTC