By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Forgetting the biblical adage that “judge not so that you shall not be judged,” House Deputy Majority Leader Joel Villanueva made a scathing statement that senators are superior to congressmen that compelled ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo to stand up for his colleagues at the lower chamber.
Tulfo expressed hope on Wednesday that Villanueva will retract his “insulting” statement considering his father, Bro. Eddie Villanueva is representing the Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party-list in the Lower House.
“I was really surprised kay (Sen. Villanueva), yung tatay niya si Bro. Eddie Villanueva is with us sa party-list coalition kaya medyo nagulat lahat ng members ng party-list and nag usap-usap kami last week bakit daw nasabi ni Joel Villanueva yun e tatay niya nasa party-list din,” Tulfo quipped.
Last January 24, the younger Villanueva said in his privilege speech the millions of votes garnered by senators cannot be compared to district congressmen who receive only a few thousand votes, and even to party-list representatives, even if they were voted for nationally.
“Siguro nadala lang siya ng emotion niya pero hopefully i-retract naman niya sana yun kasi parang nakaka-insulto as being party-list representatives, we were not just put in the office by anybody, by some government official. We were also voted,” Tulfo noted.
He added that unlike senators, where only 12 will be elected, dozens of party-list groups win in an election.
(el Amigo/MNM)
