As politicians draw party lines ahead of the 2022 elections, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco called for unity at the House of Representatives on Monday, July 26, ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s sixth and final State of the Nation Address.

“The strength of one is the strength of all.… Mas marami pa tayong magagawa kung patuloy na magsasamasama tayo (We can do more if we continue to be together),” Velasco said in a session hall with only around 100 lawmakers present.

The call comes as lawmakers under him have begun organizing and arranging support for their presidential bets in 2022.

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Velasco himself has declared enthusiastic support for presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte to replace her father. Even House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, who leads the Lakas-CMD party, has declared support for Sara.

Meanwhile, Velasco is also surrounded by lawmakers who are allied with Senator Manny Pacquiao, another possible presidential bet in 2022. With the House controlled by supporters of Sara, supporters of Pacquiao and other possible presidential candidates have not come forward.

At the House, not being in the favor of the ruling bloc could mean the reduction and the delay of your budget. In fact, for a time in 2018, opposition lawmakers were given no budget at all.

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In his speech, Velasco emphasized that the House continues to support Duterte, even stressing that the President still enjoys popularity – a feat that no other president has come close to in their final year in office.

Popular support does not mean legislative achievement, however. As of July 2021, only 4 of 21 priority bills set by Duterte in 2020 have been signed into law.

House Majority Leader Romualdez also said the House aims to pass the 2022 budget ahead of October, when politicians begin filing their certificates of candidacy for the upcoming elections. – Rappler.com