‘Duterte fed up with House intramurals’

MANILA, Philippines — While a Palace-affiliated media outfit covered Rep. Lord Allan Velasco’s election as Speaker by his allies, President Duterte is not meddling in the leadership war in the House of Representatives and is in fact getting fed up with politicking in the chamber, Malacañang said yesterday.

At a press briefing, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Chief Executive’s main concern is seeing the P4.5-trillion budget for 2021 passed so that government would be able to deal more effectively with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In principle, the President does not want to be involved in politics. ‘Natagam na ako (roughly: I am fed up).’ Natagam is the Visayan word for ‘Nadala na ako (I am fed up).’ That’s the verbatim statement of the President when he urged lawmakers to set aside politics,” Roque said.

“Ayaw kong makialam sa pulitika sa Kamara. Natagam na ako. Ang importante ay maipasa ang (I do not want to meddle in politics in Congress. I am fed up. What is important is the passage of the) proposed 2021 budget),” he added.

“The President just said, pass the budget first, so anything they do after the budget is the affair of the House of Representatives,” the Palace spokesman said.

Roque said Duterte talked about being fed up with politicking last Sunday “in anticipation of the political activities” at the House.

“He is fed up because the politicking in the House is not stopping. Those who want to become Speaker just want power. How about the nation? He is not siding with anyone at this point. He just wants the COVID-19 budget passed,” he said.

When asked why Radio TV Malacañang (RTVM), which documents the activities of the President, covered the meeting of the allies of Velasco, Cayetano’s rival for the post of speaker, Roque said he knew nothing about it.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Kris Ablan claimed the RTVM coverage of the meeting at Celebrity Sports Plaza was requested by Deputy Majority Leader Bernadette Herrera-Sy.

He said the House also requested for live coverage of the budget deliberations last August.

“The RTVM had a team at Batasan today to prepare for the resumption of session. The assigned crew was informed (that it should) transfer to the Celebrity Sports Plaza instead and upon getting to the venue, RTVM covered the activity,” Ablan said in a statement.

“RTVM has committed itself in this endeavor to help promote transparency among the different executive departments and agencies, the HOR (House of Representatives) and the Filipino people on the government’s planned tax expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year. Regardless of the present political climate within the HOR, the RTVM has heeded request for such needed coverage,” he added.

Ablan claimed the PCOO and RTVM simply complied with the request for coverage.

Couldn’t care less

Roque, meanwhile, said Duterte does not care about what lawmakers would do after the 2021 budget is approved.

“It would be up to you to decide what you want to do next. Meanwhile, please pass the budget,” he said.

“To each his own, wala pong pinapanigan (not siding with anyone). May the best man win for the speakership. After the budget, after the budget in the House, please,” he added.

Roque said those who still believe in Duterte should heed his call to fast-track the approval of the spending bill.

“How can you discuss the budget if the issue is the leadership? That’s what the President wants to avoid. To those who are supporting the President, if you still believe in the President, I hope you grant his request,” Roque said.

“During the time of COVID-19, allow the budget that will address COVID-19 to be approved before you engage in politics. That is if you still recognize the leadership of our President. If not, c’est la vie (that’s life), but 91 percent of the people stand solid behind the President and I think congressmen as political creatures know what that means,” Roque said, referring to a recent Pulse Asia poll showing 91 percent of respondents trust and approve of Duterte’s performance.

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