(Eagle News)–Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro said Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s statement all lawmakers would receive a budget regardless of whether they were a member of the majority or the minority shows she treats all her colleagues equally.
In a radio interview, Castro said this was the right thing to do, as a Speaker was a Speaker not only for the majority but also the minority.
“Ang Speaker, dapat nasa gitna lang,” he said.
He said under then-Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, some lawmakers received zero-budget allocations.
Some members of Rep. Miro Quimbo’s group, he said, did not receive any allocation.
Although this was Alvarez’s right, he said “ibig sabihin, hindi na sila binibigyan ng pansin ng dating Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez na maiayos ang kanilang mga distrito.”