Only in the Philippines do quirks of politicians happen in damaging and embarrassing frequency.

The recent upheaval in the House of Representatives which resulted in the installation of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the new Speaker replacing Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez has engendered the resurgence of these oddities.

The group of Rep. Danilo Suarez, which was the majority’s minority during the term of Alvarez, wants to retain its minority status despite having voted for Macapagal-Arroyo.

It should be recalled that the Suarez group was anointed by the erstwhile Alvarez leadership as the institutional minority despite Suarez’s having voted for Alvarez as then Speaker and placing only second to Rep. Teddy Baguilat in the Speakership contest during the opening session of the 17thCongress.

The pertinent rule of the House of Representatives explicitly provides that those who vote for the winning Speaker constitute the majority.

In the ascendancy of Macapagal-Arroyo, the Suarez group did not only vote for the new Speaker, but campaigned for her election.

On the other hand, Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, Alvarez’s Majority Leader, is being groomed to retain his position despite the incongruity that he was the ousted Speaker’s chief lieutenant.

Meanwhile, the group of Representatives who abstained from voting for Macapagal-Arroyo, which is the authentic Minority based on the House rules and recent jurisprudence, has not been recognized as the opposition despite its pending formal letter for recognition.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN