I cast a “no vote” for Speaker because I have opted to remain with the independent opposition.

Moreover, both candidates for Speaker, including the projected runner-up and presumptive minority leader, are the identical sides of the same supermajority coin.

Although the dogma is that there should be no idolatrous adherence to precedents, the unfortunate fact is that precedents die hard, including those which are blatant aberrations like the majority choosing the minority leader.

What happened in the 16th and 17th Congresses where the choice of a minority leader was decided by the ascendant majority is perpetuated in the 18th Congress where the installation of a minority leader has been brokered and approved by the supermajority coalition.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN