Duterte Coalition: "We hope to unite the House"

A new coalition has emerged in Batasan, just as the Speakership race for the 18th Congress is heating up.

In a statement, presidential son and Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte announced a new group within the House of Representatives. Called the Duterte Coalition, the group said they "hope to unite the House" amid the brewing Speakership battle.

The coalition is the product of an alliance between Duterte's Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod, a local party in Davao City, with his sister Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's Hugpong ng Pagbabago.

"We have created the Duterte Coalition and we wish to invite everyone to join this group of lawmakers who believe in positive change," the lawmakers said on Friday.

The group currently has nine members, all of them hailing from the region: Rep. Paolo Duterte, Davao City Reps. Isidro Ungab and Vincent Garcia, Davao Oriental Rep. Corazon Malanyaon, Compostela Valley Rep. Manuel Zamora, Davao Occidental Rep. Lorna Bautista, Dumper Philippines Taxi Drivers Association Party-list Rep. Claudine Bautista, and Marino Party-list Reps. Sandro Gonzales and Anton Lopez.

Earlier this week, Paolo said he is now considering to vie for the top post in the House of Representatives just to unify the chamber. This comes even after his father President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to resign, should his son sit as Speaker.

A day later, Sara's Hugpong ng Pagbabago then floated Ungab as their candidate for the race. The President's party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) last week endorsed Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco as their anointed one.

The Duterte Coalition likewise called for members of the Presidential Cabinet to stop interfering in the affairs of the chamber, saying that some of these officials are fielding their own bets as Speaker.

'Unity'

The new coalition is now calling on other aspiring House speakers — as they now have two among them — to join the movement.

WATCH: Mayor Inday Sara Duterte finally comments about KAPA Issue

"The Duterte Coalition is a strategic partnership of dynamic public servants who are committed to institute governance and development reforms that are necessary for the Philippines to secure its rightful place in the world stage of nations, particularly in the Southeast Asian region," the group said.

"A special call to be a partner is extended to Congressmen Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Lord Allan Jay Velasco. We shall not serve one interest, we will work for all Filipinos," they added.

The President said he will not name his choice as House Speaker so as not to offend any of his allies. However, he floated a term sharing agreement between Cayetano and Velasco, where the former gets 15 months as the top House leader before giving way to the latter who would sit for 21 months. PDP-Laban president Senator Koko Pimentel said they will insist that Velasco must go first.

Term sharing 'unproductive'

Sara Duterte rejected her father's proposal for term-sharing, calling it "unproductive" for the chamber.

"It will slow down the last three years of the administration of President Duterte. In a term sharing situation, the House of Representatives will be racked with unseating the incumbent Speaker — deceit, dissent and distrust," the Davao City mayor said in a text message shared with reporters.

"We do not know why the term-sharing influencers do not seem to care what will happen to the House. They just want to install a Speaker and do not think about what comes after," she added.

The chairperson of the regional bloc also called for calm in the Speaker contest, saying that the issue should be left for House members to resolve.

JUST IN: Paolo Duterte Warns Cabinet officials against meddling in Speakership Race

The 18th Congress formally opens on July 22, when solons will vote on their new leadership.

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This article first appeared on CNN Philippines.