Paolo Duterte changes mind, backs out of House speakership race
MANILA, Philippines (Update 2, 1:58 p.m.) — Rep. Paolo Duterte (Davao City 1st district) announced Saturday he is no longer interested in becoming the House speaker, saying the timing is not yet right.
In a statement, Paolo said he and his father, President Rodrigo Duterte, “both agreed that this will not be the right time for me to be Speaker and I can still help his administration from the House in a different capacity.”
The younger Duterte added that as president of Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod, he would support the speakership bid of Rep. Isidro Ungab (Davao City 3rd district) of Hugpong ng Pagbabago — the regional political party formed by presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“The president has also been fully informed of Rep. Ungab’s participation in the race for the next Speaker of the House of Representatives,” Paolo said.
The presidential son’s decision to back out of the speakership race came following the creation of the so-called “Duterte Coalition” composed of his group and his sister’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago.
“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 in a statement Friday.
Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig), previously Foreign Affairs secretary and the Duterte patriarch’s running mate in 2016, has been insisting that 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. The president 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.
In a bid to break a deadlock among aspirants, Paolo had agreed to the plan to share the three-year speaker term. “The House is divided, I might be able to help unite it,” he previously said.
The president earlier said he would resign if should his son Paolo — a neophyte lawmaker — seek the leadership of the lower house that is dominated by administration allies.
Shifting to a federal government system and reviving capital punishment for drug-related crimes are among Duterte’s key promises when he became president in a landslide election victory — and to do so he needs the backing of legislators.
The president has also put forward a plan to revamp the country’s tax system to help raise funds for his ambitious infrastructure program. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
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