• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez, a staunch ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., dismissed Nov. 19 the alleged brewing coup in the House of Representatives, stressing that it only surfaced on social media.
“Not heard of it,” said Benitez, who is the convenor of the Visayan Bloc.
He said he suspects that those behind it are some loyalists of former Speaker Martin Romualdez, who are opposing change in Congress.
“They are trying to promote continuity, rather than change,” said Benitez, who did not vote for Romualdez for the Speakership of the 20th Congress.
Romualdez was later replaced by Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino Dy III, with almost all Negros Island Region lawmakers voting for him.
He also questioned the motive of Senator Imee Marcos in shaming her own brother in public, especially in a huge rally.
“While it appears that it shows concern for her brother, the way and manner of what she did is also detrimental to her brother,” Benitez said. “For me, it could have been done privately, within their own family members.”
He dismissed the claims against the President as an old issue, noting that even former President Rodrigo Duterte publicly revealed such allegations during his term as chief executive.
In a statement, the President’s son, House Majority Leader Rep. Sandro Marcos, called the allegations of his aunt that his parents and him were into drugs, as false and dangerously irresponsible.
“What she did was saddening,” the congressman said. “For her to betray her own family brings a lot of pain to me as a consequence of my respect (for) her for giving me my start in public life.” | GB
