Velasco reopens budget debates on taking over as House speaker

MANILA, Philippines, October 15 ------ Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco on Tuesday officially took over the reins at the House of Representatives, ending weeks of a leadership crisis that has threatened to delay the passage of the P4.5-trillion proposed national budget for 2021. Velasco took the Speaker’s podium shortly before noon, after the majority of House members ratified his election on Monday by an assembly held in a sports club in Quezon City. His election gave him the right to assume the speakership, as stated in a 2019 term-sharing agreement with his predecessor, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, whose refusal to let go of power caused the crisis.

President Duterte, who had brokered the deal, summoned Velasco and Cayetano to Malacañang after noon on Tuesday and told them to work together to pass the budget on time, according to Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go. “All is well,” Go, the President’s former longtime aide, told reporters in a Viber message and shared photos of the meeting at the Palace, which took place before the House opened a special session called by Mr. Duterte for the passage of the spending bill.

“[The President] is like a father. He spoke with his children. He advised them to unite [like a majority coalition] and pass the budget on time for the Filipino people,” Go said. Last week, the President threatened to step in if the House failed to resolve the leadership row. He did not say what exactly he would do, but later indicated that he wanted Cayetano to give way by allowing the Palace to tell the press that he had told Velasco in a meeting that the Marinduque congressman had the right to seek the speakership, as stated in his term-sharing deal with the Taguig representative.

It is believed that the President’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, worked the phones during the weekend to help tilt the House majority toward Velasco. The last indication of Palace support for Velasco was the Radio Television Malacañang broadcast of the closed assembly at Celebrity Sports Plaza, which Cayetano still refused to recognize by questioning Velasco’s support. But his fall became clear on Tuesday morning after 186 members of the 301-strong House voted to ratify Velasco’s election as Speaker the day before. Cayetano later tendered his “irrevocable resignation.”

Source: inquirer.net