Efforts to unify the opposition in the House of Representatives appeared headed for failure after allies of defeated presidential bets former Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Secretary Mar Roxas decided to slug it out for leadership of the minority bloc in the legislative chamber. Outgoing Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City and former independent minority bloc leader Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez will run for speaker but they both said winning over Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez could be an impossible task. A week into the speakership race, Alvarez has been assured of at least 90 percent of the total House membership. Claiming that he has the numbers to place second in the speakership race and thus become minority leader, Suarez said he will represent Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance that won nine congressional seats in the May elections. “I don’t think LP still has enough members to back [...]
