As expected, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez handily won the Speakership of the House of Representatives as he garnered the nod of 251 lawmakers during the start of the 17th Congress at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City on Monday.
It was Liberal Party (LP) stalwart and outgoing Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. who nominated Alvarez for the Speakership, a move that was seconded by leaders of the Nacionalista Party (NP), Nationalist Peoples’ Coalition (NPC), National Unity Party (NUP) and Alvarez’s Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in the House.
Challenging Alvarez for the post were Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez who garnered eight and seven votes, respectively.
There were 21 abstentions. (Cielito M. Reganit/PNA)
