House leadership showdown seen on October 14

MANILA, Philippines —The House leadership will be decided on Oct. 14, and the numbers between incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco will finally be known.

“Just wait for Oct. 14, that is the D-Day. That is the time everything will be revealed. Nine more days and that’s it,” a source, who requested anonymity because both Cayetano and Velasco are his friends, told The STAR.

Any member of Congress, whether for Cayetano or for Velasco, could declare the post of speaker vacant and the election for it would proceed.

“There is nothing Cayetano could do about it as he really has to resign and subject himself to that election of the House speaker on Oct. 14,” the source said.

Velasco reportedly has been making the rounds to garner votes for the midweek showdown with Cayetano.

Cayetano and Velasco have been trading barbs on who between them should be speaker after the two forged a term-sharing agreement last year.

Velasco is supposed to assume as speaker after Cayetano’s share of the agreement ends this month, but the Taguig congressman latter is not giving up without a fight.

President Duterte, leader of the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP-Laban), earlier tried to iron out issues between the two in a meeting held last week at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang.

The President stressed he is taking a hands-off stance on this internal matter of Congress, and has reiterated he just wanted the 2021 budget passed without delay. Congress then has to submit the proposed budget to the Senate for deliberations.

Cayetano, a day after meeting with Duterte in Malacañang, offered to resign as Speaker during a plenary session last Thursday, but was egged on to retain his post following a nominal voting of the members of Congress in his favor.

“But let us just wait until Oct. 14, and whatever each of the two (Cayetano and Velasco) says would ultimately be decided by the voting on that day,” the STAR source added.

House not bound by deal

Key allies of Cayetano have openly declared they are not bound by the term-sharing agreement Duterte brokered between him and Velasco, insisting Velasco does not have any “word of honor.”

“We respect the decision of the President to somehow try to negotiate the term-sharing agreement. But as other members of the House, we are not bound by that agreement,” Deputy Speaker Danilo Fernandez argued.

Another key ally, now Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro who took over the post of Rep. Mikee Romero who was booted out by Cayetano’s camp last week, reiterated it is the presumptive Speaker who does not have palabra de honor (word of honor), not Cayetano.

“It’s Velasco who has no palabra de honor,” read the title of a press release the Cayetano camp sent to House media. The Capiz congressman said Velasco “did not follow through on the original agreement to work with Cayetano last year.”

“Where is the honor in that?” Castro openly manifested in a privilege speech last week.

Another fellow deputy speaker, LRay Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, lashed out at Velasco for his “suddenly incessant rant” about the 15-21 term-sharing deal, and advised him to acknowledge that Cayetano has the overwhelming support of their colleagues.

“He should shut his trap and return to his peculiarly silent and inconspicuous ways because last week’s 184-1 vote with nine abstentions rejecting Cayetano’s surprise resignation was the chamber’s full and unequivocal support for the incumbent Speaker,” he stressed.

As far as Villafuerte is concerned, it was also a “repudiation of any Velasco-led makeover that would only usher in a House leadership of default and absenteeism.”

‘For friends or country?’

For his part, Velasco said the move of Cayetano to have his term extended – either until December this year or until June 2022 – is linked to billions of pesos in district allocations.

“It’s very simple – budget. To hang on to the speakership and extend his term until December on the pretext of budget deliberations only raises suspicion,” Velasco said in a video posted on Facebook over the weekend.

“The question for Speaker Cayetano and his buddies: is the budget for the country or for your friends? Is this a meaningful budget in the midst of a pandemic or a large budget for your group?” Velasco asked in Filipino.

“Is this why Speaker Cayetano and his sidekicks are adamant and fiercely fighting the peaceful transition of House leadership? Is this why Speaker Cayetano is trying to blackmail President Duterte and hold the budget hostage if his term is not extended?” he asked.

A key ally of Velasco – Oriental Mindoro Rep. Doy Leachon whom Cayetano booted out as House Electoral Tribunal chairman last February – also lashed out at Cayetano’s camp for being “vindictive” by removing Romero of 1Pacman party-list only because he is identified with them.

“These repressively draconian stunts being shown by the House leadership, like the unceremonious stripping from key positions of perceived non-allied leaders, do not in any way sow harmony among house members,” he reminded the Cayetano camp.

“Worse, if these would carelessly persist, the unnoticed growing resentment among congressmen, particularly on the issue of their immensely inequitable district budget allocation, might later be blown out of proportion to the detriment of the country’s ongoing budget deliberations, the urgent legislative priorities, and the consequential stained image of Congress by reason of the power struggle,” Leachon said.

“We expect Congressman Cayetano to resign on Oct. 14 and hand over the authority to Congressman Velasco with both of them exhibiting true trait of gentlemen complying their earlier agreement witnessed by President Duterte last Sept. 29,” he added. – Delon Porcalla, Gilbert Bayoran