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MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte is hopeful that House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco will follow through on their shared term agreement, but said there is nothing he can do if the latter lacks the number in terms of support from congressmen.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said this was Duterte’s sentiment on the matter when asked about the line of speakers in the House of Representatives.
“The president hopes that the president and Congressman Velasco will honor their agreement, but ultimately, the decision will be up to the individual congressmen,” Roque said in an online briefing.
“What he said, to really quote him is, ‘If Lord Allan doesn’t have a number, he can’t do anything,'” he continued.
(What he said and to actually quote is: “If Lord Allan doesn’t have the numbers, he can’t do anything anymore”).
Duterte previously approved a term shared between the current Cayetano and Velasco for the presidency of the Chamber.
Cayetano will serve as Spokesperson for the first 15 months or until October of this year, while Velasco will serve as Spokesperson for the remaining months.
The supermajority of congressmen want Cayetano to keep his position, instead of letting Velasco take over, said the vice president of the Chamber and the representative of Camarines Sur, LRay Villafuerte.
Villafuerte said he believes Velasco will have no chance against Cayetano in terms of support from the congressmen.
JPV
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