Cayetano claims to have a ‘large majority’ over his rival

Alan Peter Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines – Amid rumors of a takeover in the House of Representatives, President Alan Peter Cayetano claimed Tuesday that he had higher numbers than his rival, Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco, in a hypothetical showdown, saying that as many as 200 of the 300 legislators in the chamber had voiced their support.

“Based on those who texted me and expressed [their support] or he called me, I think I have a great, great majority behind me, ”Cayetano said in a radio interview.

But two House sources told the Inquirer that Velasco flew to Davao City, President Duterte’s hometown, on Saturday to try to secure the backing of the president and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. , in a prelude to another heated battle of speakers.

Row over pig

The House has been plagued by tension since hostilities broke out between Cayetano and Velasco last week over the allegedly partisan and inequitable distribution of public works allocations to districts and regions in the proposed P4.5 billion budget for 2021.

Vice President Paolo Duterte’s threat to declare the seats of the House leaders vacant did not materialize on Monday, but the situation remains volatile amid disputes among lawmakers.

“By our count, we have 200 out of 300 [House members]. As for the others, I can’t tell because they didn’t text me. Now if they texted me and then texted Velasco too, I wouldn’t know. I can’t monitor his cell phone, ”Cayetano said.

He gave a warning to the Velasco camp. “Just show me that the majority don’t like me and the transition will be smooth. But they cannot blackmail me or hijack the situation so that I accept corruption, pigs, favoritism or increase their funds, ”he said.

“Whatever your district needs, let’s talk about it. But I will not allow anyone to push me, “he added.

In a Facebook post Tuesday night, Velasco broke his silence on the speakers’ dispute, saying that he had intended to remain silent for the duration of the “gentlemen’s agreement” with Cayetano “in deference and respect to the president. in functions”.

“My silence does not mean that I am disinterested or that I have turned my back on the pact.

“‘Mommy in trouble’ means I just don’t want to draw attention to myself,” he said.

Velasco said he would still honor the deal with the Spokesman and hoped Cayetano would do the same.

“Being part of the shared term agreement, one does not seek and should not compete with the current president, as the gentlemen’s agreement is in effect. We will have our turn at the right time, ”he said.

“When both parties finally fulfill the agreement, I will show my colleagues the kind of leadership that I stand for. From then on, at the end of my term, my colleagues can judge my loyal service to God, the president and, ultimately, the Filipino people, ”he said.

Velasco posted the message on various Facebook accounts, including his official Facebook page, with Marinduque indicated as his current location, despite information reaching the Inquirer that he was in the city of Davao.

One of the Inquirer sources said Velasco was trying to convince the president’s daughter to intervene on his behalf, but the other source said it was unclear whether Velasco had received a hearing.

Shared Term Agreement

Cayetano and Velasco, leader of the president’s party in the House, have a shared term agreement negotiated by Duterte himself in 2019. Under the agreement, Cayetano, Duterte’s losing 2016 running mate, vice president, would head the House. for 15 months from July 2019 until the end of October 2020, then hand over the leadership to Velasco, who would lead the chamber for the last 21 months of the Duterte administration, or until the end of June 2022.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday that Duterte wanted the rivals to honor their shared term agreement, but could do nothing if Velasco did not have the support of a majority of House members.

Vice President Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr. had said that the “supermajority” in the chamber wanted Cayetano to remain president despite the shared term agreement with Velasco.

Last week, the president met with Cayetano and Velasco in Malacañang, after which he reportedly said he sympathized with Velasco.

On Tuesday, Roque said that Duterte’s position was that it was up to members of the House to choose their leader, but that he expected them to respect the shared term agreement between Cayetano and Velasco.

In his radio interview on Tuesday, Cayetano said that the issue of public speaking should not detract from the urgency of approving the budget on time.

“I’d really like to focus on the budget,” he said. “Any talk about leadership, about change, the budget will suffer. I don’t want the budget to get mixed up with politics ”.

But the budget, through which lawmakers have traditionally funneled money into their own pockets through discretionary and lump sum items known as “pigs,” has often been at the center of political conflict in the House.

In 2018, the approval of the 2019 budget was delayed for several months as a result of last-minute insertions of the new leadership of the House under the then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who had carried out a coup against the representative of Davao del Norte Pantaleón Alvarez.

The fight for the loot turned into a dispute between the House, the Senate and the Cabinet that led to a renewed budget for the first four months of 2019.

The president ended up vetoing P95.3 billion in alleged pork appropriations inserted by House lawmakers.

In January, shortly after signing the 2020 budget, the president asked his budget managers to review P84 billion in Congressional inserts before turning them over to districts, infuriating many members of the House.

–With a report by Julie M. Aurelio

Read next

EDITOR’S SELECTION

MOST READ

Don’t miss the latest news and information.