Opposition Thin at Budget Debate as Two Members Absent

As the national budget debate continues in the House of Representatives, questions are swirling—not just about the numbers, but about the presence, or lack thereof, of the opposition. Of the five elected opposition members, only three showed up for today’s session. Notably absent were Hugo Patt and Miguel Guerra. News Five has learned that Guerra has opted out of the debate entirely, while it remains unclear whether Patt will make an appearance over the next two days. So, what does this say about the state of the opposition? We put that question directly to Opposition Leader Tracy Taegar-Panton. Her response, coming up next.

 

Tracy Taegar Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“That is for the honorable Hugo Patt and the honorable Miguel Guerra to respond to. I think we have a duty and we have a responsibility, we have an obligation to the people who elected us to participate in this process, to add our contributions to the National debate. It is a social contract. We need a robust and functioning democracy to have a robust and functioning government. I believe they should be here. I don’t know why they are not here. I know we had villages council elections yesterday in those constituencies, but I don’t accept that as a suitable excuse for not being here on the first of our budget rebuttal.”

 

Paul Lopez

“What will you do to compel them to come to the budget debate for the next two days?”

 

Tracy Taegar Panton

“I cannot compel them to do what they ought to be doing. Even before today’s meeting, we have been meeting as a team, as a UDP parliamentary caucus. We have included all colleagues in the truest sense of defending, and promoting and advocating for democracy we have an obligation and they will need to answer for themselves why they are not here.”