Office of Minority Leader

Rep. Edcel C. Lagman

07 January 2012

0916-6406737 / 0918-9120137

             I want to continue providing the minority in the House of Representatives a competent, credible and conscientious leadership.

            This is also the mandate of Minority colleagues constituting an absolute majority of opposition members who voluntarily endorsed my retention as Minority Leader in a signed resolution last December 2011.

           Rep. Danilo Suarez must not disparage and demean the imprimatur of his colleagues who did not only express support for my leadership but collectively want me to continue leading the opposition.

            Suarez must be using a derelict abacus in counting 19 supporters.

           The term-sharing proposed by Suarez in July 2010 was limited to the Speakership which was his way out in not contesting my candidacy for Speaker representing the then Lakas Kampi after he realized that he did not have the numbers in the party.

            Even granting Suarez’ imagined term-sharing for the minority leadership existed, minority members can overturn such agreement which is not binding on them.

           It should be Suarez who must stop involving former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in his struggle and should not use her hospital suite as his campaign headquarters.

            Suarez must wean himself from the former President and desist running to her for help.