Pampanga 3rd District Rep. and Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales on Monday, Nov. 6, verbally resigned as a member and officer of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) after he named former President Rodrigo Duterte as the official who challenges the House of Representatives's integrity.
Gonzales declared his resignation during the 19th Congress' plenary session where lawmakers, including Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman, sponsored House Resolution No. (HRN) 1414 "upholding the integrity and honor of the House of Representatives and to express appreciation, solidarity, and support to the leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez."
In his sponsorship speech, Lagman asked the Senior Deputy Speaker to name the official who uttered remarks that "could be considered subverting or challenging the integrity of the House."
Lagman said he asked the question "because the resolution [HRN 1414] is rather vague, it does not give us proper background."
"I'm asking not to question the resolution but to give it some anchorage," he added.
Despite being reluctant at first, Gonzales answered the Albay lawmaker's question and said, "The one who uttered that word is our chairman from PDP-Laban — before I will answer, I will resign now as member and officer of PDP-Laban — the former President Rodrigo Duterte, the one who said that."
Lagman then closed his speech and stated that "He [Duterte] had said so many subversive utterances before. He must answer all of this. That statement is also an accusation of the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez. For that reason, I fully support the Resolution."
It can be recalled that in October, House political party leaders first called on Duterte to “avoid making threats or insinuating harm” against members of Congress and or the institution itself.
The call comes after Duterte threatened to harm ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro in an interview with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy during an SMNI program.
In the same program, the former President accused the lower house of being the "most rotten institution."
