THE House Minority Bloc, led by 4Ps Party-list Representative Marcelino Libanan on Tuesday, assured a “constructive minority bloc” under the House leadership of Speaker Martin G. Romualdez.

Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera is aligning herself with the minority bloc as Deputy Minority Leader for the first time in her congressional career.

Herrera is taking on a new role as House Deputy Minority Leader in the 19th Congress following a successful change in leadership in the lower chamber.

“Being part of the minority should always be anchored on the public good, and not on the urge to obstruct or to be proven right,” Herrera pointed out.

“This will be a brand new challenge for me, and I hope to accomplish it with flying colors as I’ve done in my past roles as a legislator,” Herrera said.

Herrera vowed to work with Libanan in leading a “constructive minority” in the House.

“There seems to be a mistaken notion that the role of the minority is merely to oppose and criticize the administration,” she added.

As one of Libanan’s deputies, Herrera said that part of her job is ensuring the minority bloc will play an important role in developing laws.

“I’m for well-studied critiques and fine-tuning. One of my strengths has always been finding points of improvement and making good legislation even better by introducing different points of view,” Herrera said.

“We do not intend to block legislative measures, but our people can be assured that proposed measures will be thoroughly vetted to clarify each bill’s intent and provide safeguards.”

Herrera said the House minority is looking forward to working with Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez to ensure the passage of game-changing laws intended to fast-track the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Speaker Romualdez is a valued friend from way back, and our respect for each other goes beyond politics and political blocs,” Herrera said.

“Our duty to the people includes the great and heavy responsibility of protecting the independence and integrity of the House of Representatives as an institution of democracy,” she pointed out.

Since 2010, Herrera has always been aligned with the House majority bloc, holding various leadership positions, including as Deputy Speaker in the 18th Congress.

She also served as Deputy Majority Leader and chairperson of the Committees on Women and Gender Equality and Public Information and Communications in previous Congresses.