ADVERTISEMENT“SB (Sonny Belmonte) just called me to say he is not running for Speaker and the LP will join the majority,” said Fariñas. FORMER Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and the Liberal Party (LP) have scuttled their plan to lead the opposition in the 17th Congress and instead will join the allies of President Duterte in the majority coalition. Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo said Belmonte told party members he was setting aside his personal goal to lead the minority “in deference to the position of former President Noynoy Aquino for the LP to join the majority coalition.” The LP has been reduced to 30 members and roughly 10 allies from party-list groups led by Akbayan. This would have been enough to win Belmonte the minority leadership.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 23, 2016 19:07 UTC