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‘House will not be a rubber stamp’
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Posted on Jan 12 2023
Edmund S. Villagomez
Newly elected House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) has assured the public that the House under his leadership will not be a rubber stamp of the Palacios-Apatang administration.
Villagomez said in an interview Tuesday that the 23rd House will not be a rubber stamp as anyone who has been following his political career knows where he’s been in the leadership with the same political party of the administration.
“I get a lot of frowns [thrown] my way because they’re like, hey, the governor says this. I’m like, well, I disagree. But you know, let the votes fall where they fall,” he said.
Under his leadership as speaker, the 22nd House opposed and criticized many programs and actions of the administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and even investigated Torres’ expenditures of public funds.
Villagomez was re-elected Monday as House speaker of the 23rd Legislature, which is composed of 13 independents, four Democrats, and three Republicans.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang won the November runoff election under a unified independent team.
Villagomez said Tuesday that he believes that he, Palacios, and Apatang have the same mentality in a sense that they are all “individual thinkers.”
“We’re all leaders and, you know, let’s agree to disagree if we have to, and let’s find a way to compromise and iron out our differences and to accomplish whatever goal needs to be accomplished,” the speaker said.
Villagomez said even if someone runs under the same party or under the same banner and just because those on the top say they do this and they all do it, then he can’t see the point.
“We need to continue to work hard and think hard too for ourselves so that we come up with the best product,” he added.
