Nogie

The House leadership shake up is finally over. Our district rep Boy Nograles is the new Speaker.

He is the first Davaoeno and first Mindanaoan to hold the post, the fourth highest in government.

He brings to Congress Davao’s legacy of having topnotch congressional leaders such as Maeng Veloso of the pre-martial law era who served as assistant (deputy) speaker and Nonoy Garcia of the 1980-90s who was assistant majority leader and assistant speaker. We can also count in Artemio Loyola and Nilo Maskarino, veterans of the City Council, who were elevated to Congress. Both of them oftentimes were asked to temporarily preside sessions of Congress.

Nogie also earlier got the highest post for a Davaoeno as majority leader.

A little known session in the House during the time of Elias Lopez also made him “speaker.” Nothing to do with very few members of congress in attendance, those present, exasperated by the lack of quorum, declared the house leadership vacant. Joker Arroyo, now senator, moved to nominate Elias Lopez, also a former city mayor of Davao, to the post and was unanimously chosen as new “speaker.” The proceeding was, however, unofficial.

Ousted JVD’s valedictory address was a rehash of many issues widely publicly known already. He sounded more of a sourgrape than a whistleblower.

While his “moral revolution” was a good message, the messenger, however, an epitome of trapo (traditional politics), the cause of many woes in the country, was totally the wrong guy to call for it.

(8:47 a.m.)

(Note: still no net service in the house)