MANILA, Philippines, October 1 ------ Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano is keeping his post after the House plenary decided in session yesterday to reject his offer to resign and proceed with his term-sharing agreement with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco. It’s unclear if Cayetano intends to honor a reported agreement brokered Monday by President Duterte, who heads the administration coalition, to turn over the Speaker’s post to Velasco by Oct. 14.
Congressmen voted 184-1 with nine abstentions to approve the motion of Cayetano’s allies to reject his offer to resign effective today. Several of those who voted in favor, however, clarified that they simply wanted Cayetano to keep his post until Oct. 14, as agreed upon with Duterte. Cayetano offered to resign at the end of an hour-long address to the plenary in which he attacked Velasco for pushing for the change in the House leadership during budget deliberations and while the nation is facing the coronavirus pandemic.
“I will not be a party to letting the President down, so I am offering my resignation here and now to you, my dear colleagues. My fate and the fate of the 2021 budget and leadership of the House are in your hands,” he told fellow congressmen. “What Velasco did last night makes it impossible for me to finish the budget. If our colleagues want you (Velasco) to take over today, then do it. I’m offering my resignation here and now,” Cayetano said. He added: “Congressman Velasco told the President that he is ready. Then I think the best time to prove it is now. You want Sept. 30. Go ahead. If colleagues want you today, then go ahead.”
His allies, led by Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor and Bulacan Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado, stood up and put forward a motion rejecting his resignation offer. Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu then sought viva voce voting or voting via “ayes” and “nays,” but the plenary instead proceeded to settle the matter via nominal voting. A total of 184 House members voted to keep Cayetano as Speaker, while only one dissented. This developed after Cayetano and Velasco met with Duterte in Malacañang the night before to tackle the speakership issue.
Earlier in the day, allies of Cayetano led by Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte belied reports quoting Velasco’s camp that he is all set to assume the House leadership on Oct. 14. Cayetano said he was tasked by the President to announce what was discussed about the agreement in the Palace Tuesday night. He said he planned to report it to the plenary, but said the camp of Velasco preempted it and immediately broke the development to the media “with a mix of fake news.”
Source: philstar.com