MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr., an ally of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, has left the minority bloc to join the majority.
Minority Leader Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano confirmed this to reporters on Wednesday, saying that Teves has informed him in writing that he will resign from the minority to jump ship to the majority bloc.
Teves had previously accused former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his wife Rep. Lani Cayetano — who both represent the two legislative districts of Taguig City and Pateros — that they will receive P11.11 billion in infrastructure allocations from the 2021 budget, representing more than a quarter of the budget allocated for Metro Manila.
Cayetano has denied this accusation, saying that they are not even among the top 10 lawmakers with the biggest allocations in the budget.
Teves is the latest member of the minority to jump to the majority, following former House Minority Leader Bienvenido “Benny” Abante (Manila), who shifted to the ruling bloc citing his trust in the leadership of Velasco. — Xave Gregorio