MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros) denied that he and his allies got big allocations for infrastructure projects in the proposed 2021 budget following fresh allegations from the camp of his rival for the speakership, Rep. Lord Allan Velasco (Marinduque).
Cayetano said in a Facebook Live video on Monday that claims that he and his wife, Rep. Lani Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros), cornered 60% of the budget allocated to districts in Metro Manila were “completely false” and tagged it as part of a “campaign of lies” against him.
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The Cayetano couple, who represent the separate legislative districts of Taguig City and Taguig-Pateros, will supposedly receive P11.11 billion in infrastructure allocations from the 2021 budget, representing more than a quarter of the budget allocated for Metro Manila, according to data provided by the office of Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Negros Oriental).
Teves is allied to Velasco, who has been insisting that Cayetano abide by a term-sharing agreement brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019.
Cayetano also said that of the 10 lawmakers who received the largest budget allocations for next year, seven are not even “super close” to him. Reporters have asked for the list of the top 10 House members with the largest allocations, but his office has yet to provide it.
Cayetano also did not mention who were among the top 10 with the biggest budget allocations, except for one — Rep. Manuel Zubiri (Bukidnon), brother of Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri.
“Congressman Zubiri is one in the Top 10, I think Top 5,” he said, noting that the lawmaker also did not vote to reject his resignation when he offered it last Wednesday.
“But he is very diligent, very smart and hardworking guy. That even if we are faced with COVID-19, he shows up on the floor. I work well with him and there’s no problem. I will support his budget whether he supports me or not,” Cayetano added in a mix of English and Filipino.
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Velasco: House members want fair, equitable budget
In his own Facebook Live video on Friday, Velasco claimed that lawmakers were dismayed over the supposedly inequitable distribution of allocations in the 2021 budget.
“What our representatives want is for Congress to work on a fair and equitable budget for health care and health facilities, poverty alleviation and education,” he said. “I now ask Speaker Cayetano and his friends: Is this a budget for the people or budget for your friends?”
Quarreling over allocations in the 2021 budget has led to a showdown for the House leadership, with the term-sharing deal brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 between Cayetano and Velasco being put into question.
The two lawmakers had already met with Duterte last Tuesday to settle the term-sharing issue, with the president insisting that the agreement — which should see Cayetano step down from the helm of the House after 15 months to give way for Velasco’s 21-month term — should push through.
However, two different stories emerged from the meeting, with Velasco’s camp claiming that Cayetano is set to step down on October 14, while the speaker’s camp says that no definitive date was agreed upon.