House freshman Paolo Duterte floats speakership bid
MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, the president's son, appears to have changed his mind on vying for the top spot at the House of Representatives.
Citing talks on possible term-sharing for the House speakership, Duterte, who is a first-term congressman, said he might consider running for the post.
"The House is divided, I might be able to help unite it. Pareho lang kaming binoto ng tao. Kung term-sharing, term-sharing na kaming lahat," Duterte said, according to a report from News5.
The president's son said he will ask lawmakers from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the party-list bloc to elect their speaker for their own term share.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said he would resign if his son Paolo will seek the speakership.
"If you run, let me know. Mag-resign ako. Marami na tayo," the president said in May.
Paolo was quick to douse rumors he would seek the top House post, saying in a Facebook post: “Puede ba tubag ani (Could I reply to this)? PULONG TO PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I DID NOT SAY I WANT TO BE SPEAKER."
The Palace played down the younger Duterte's pronouncement. "Plano pa lang naman 'yun, di pa alam kung itutuloy niya o hindi (It's still just a plan, we don't know if he'll go through with it or not)," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo told Palace reporters.
Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig), previously Foreign Affairs secretary and the elder Duterte's running mate in 2016, has been insisting that the Rep. Lord Allan Velasco (Marinduque) agreed to a term-sharing scheme for the speakership of the lower house of Congress.
Cayetano said there was a deal for him to sit as speaker for the first 15 months while Velasco will take over the next 21 months. President Rodrigo Duterte himself confirmed that there was a term-sharing deal.
Velasco had rejected this proposal, saying it would divide members of the House. He has been endorsed by the Duterte-led administration PDP-Laban party as the next House speaker to serve for the full term of the 18th Congress. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
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