[] Scrolling down, read about the name that Bebot Abellanosa has given Davao Mayor Duterte-Carpio's regional party HNP; the four Cebu lawmakers officially recorded as pro-GMA voters; and Bebot Alvarez's daughter whom some people on the internet accuse of "stealing" the House mace during the House upheaval
Representative Rodrigo "Bebot" Abellanosa of Cebu City south district claims he voted for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as new speaker not because he likes the former President but because he is angry with ousted House leader Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez.
Abellanosa gave two reasons, in Thursday's (July 26) interview with Jason Monteclar of dyCM radio:
[] He was treated shabbily by Alvarez when the then speaker, secretary-general of PDP-Laban, installed Vice Mayor Edgar Labella as city chapter president. Abellanosa pointed out that he was the first in Cebu to defect to the ruling party;
[] Alvarez had been making moves against BOPK, Abellanosa's local party affiliation, torpedoing its programs such as the BRT project.
He could've voted for anyone else but GMA, who he admitted, was tainted. If there were another nominee, Cebu's Bebot said he would've voted for the other guy, not his "sangay."
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Name for Sara's party
Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) is the political party that's the current buzz of the country. There's talk that "a handful" of PDP-Laban members and allies are already eyeing it as the party to jump to: depending upon where the President will throw his support in the next elections and during the period of transition (if federalism would push through).
Bebot Abellanosa has a name for HNP: "Hubag." He said it's his own concoction, patented. Would the name fly? Probably not. The Cebuano-Bisaya word is derogatory (it means a boil), if not sexist (a hot woman).
P.S. to Cebu vote
Resolution #2025, filed and approved by viva voce at the House plenary Wednesday (July 256), seeks to enter into the records the proceedings in the evening of Monday, July 23, Sona day.
In effect, the resolution wants to make official the event in that night session and affirms its validity. It narrates what happened, how GMA was elected, and who and how many voted for her.
An appended list, in alphabetical order, lists only three regular congressmen and one party-list congressman from Cebu, among the total of 184 (out of 243 present) who voted for GMA: Bebot Abellanosa, Raul Del Mar, and Red Durano -- and yes, the often overlooked party-list rep, Raymond Democrito Mendoza.
Who took the mace?
It's a whodunit that is still unsolved. A photo of Finance Secretary Paola Alvarez, the former speaker's daughter, holding the mace went the internet rounds but she insisted the picture taking was taken after the President's speech. If she is right, it's not the mace that disappeared. What was used for the part of the session that heard the President's Sona was reportedly from the House archives, the old one.
It's also not clear if the missing mace has already resurfaced or been retrieved. Presidential liaison legislative chief Ade Sitoy mentioned on radio another name but indicated it was something he just heard about.
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'Wa magpalingpaling'
When Abellanosa stood to vote last Monday, he reportedly said in Cebuano Bisaya he was voting after he had consulted his constituents in Cebu City's second district.
One wonders what form of consultation he must have used. Some of his Cebuano colleagues, he observed, took some time to decide ("nagpalingpaling," he said), watching first where the wind would blow. In effect, he implied, they were not like Bebot A. who already decided whom to vote for.
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