Velasco reopens budget debates on assuming as president of the Chamber

NEW SPEAKER In the end, Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco snatched the numbers from Taguig Representative Alan Peter Cayetano and was elected President in a ratification vote by House members on Tuesday. The House then opened a special four-day session to approve the proposed P4.5 billion budget for 2021. (Photo by NIÑO JESUS ​​ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines – Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco officially assumed the reins of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, ending weeks of a leadership crisis that has threatened to delay approval of the proposed $ 4.5 trillion national budget. by 2021.

Velasco took the Spokesman’s podium shortly before noon, after the majority of the deputies ratified his election on Monday in an assembly held at a sports club in Quezón City.

His election gave him the right to assume the presidency, as set out in a 2019 shared-term agreement with his predecessor, Taguig representative Alan Peter Cayetano, whose refusal to leave power caused the crisis.

‘Everything is fine’

President Duterte, who had negotiated the deal, summoned Velasco and Cayetano to Malacañang after noon Tuesday and told them to work together to pass the budget on time, according to Senator Christopher “Bong” Go.

“Everything is fine,” Go, a former assistant to the president, 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 Duterte for approval. of the law. expense project.

“[The President] it is like a father. He spoke with his children. Advised them to join [like a majority coalition] and pass the budget on time for the Filipino people, ”Go said.

Last week, the president threatened to intervene if the House did not resolve the leadership dispute. He did not say what exactly he would do, but then indicated that he wanted Cayetano to back down by allowing Palacio to tell the press that he had told Velasco at a meeting that the Marinduque congressman had the right to seek the spokesperson, he said. in your shared term agreement with the Taguig representative.

The president’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, is believed to have worked the phones over the weekend to help tip the majority of the House toward Velasco.

The latest indication of Palacio’s support for Velasco was Radio Televisión Malacañang’s broadcast of the assembly behind closed doors on Celebrity Sports Plaza, which Cayetano still refused to acknowledge when questioning Velasco’s support.

But his downfall became evident Tuesday morning after 186 members of the 301-member House voted to ratify Velasco’s election as president the day before.

Cayetano later presented his “irrevocable resignation.”

‘More than 200’

The representative of Pampanga, Juan Pablo Bondoc, who acted as majority leader, announced that “more than 200 members” had expressed their intention to vote for Velasco but could not do so due to travel restrictions due to coronavirus or connectivity problems for the session attendees online.

“But for the sake of truth, we will retain the number 186, which was the number that chose him during the election,” Bondoc said, addressing Velasco.

In his speech after taking the oath of office, Velasco attacked Cayetano and his allies, who gave the Chamber the public perception of “putting political expediency before public service.”

“This perception has scandalized the nation to the point where none other than President Rodrigo Duterte himself was prompted to give a wake-up call for this august body to get in shape or embark,” Velasco said.

He said he decided to stand firm to save the budget, whose approval Cayetano had put in jeopardy by refusing to honor his shared term agreement.

After sitting down to the special session, the Chamber reopened the debates on the budget by withdrawing the approval in second reading declared by Cayetano’s leadership last week and proceeding to address the allocations for 14 agencies that were pending after Cayetano suspended the session through Nov. 16 in an attempt to prevent Velasco from pursuing his shared term agreement.

Among the agencies whose budgets were not assumed by the Cayetano chamber were the secretariats of social welfare and development, agrarian reform, transportation, education, tourism, health, foreign relations, and public works and roads.

Budget approved on Friday

In a statement, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the president was optimistic that the budget would pass in the third and final reading at the end of Friday’s special session with the resolution of the House leadership crisis.

“The president is very optimistic that it will pass, as the policy has been shelved and now they can focus on passing the budget in the House,” he said.

Congress takes a break after Friday. He will return on November 16.

Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado also said he hoped the House could pass the budget on Friday.

“We cannot afford a renewed budget at this time when we are fighting the pandemic,” Avisado said at a televised press conference.

The 2021 budget contains new spending for the government’s response to the coronavirus. The Health Department has proposed a budget of P212.4 billion, up from P185.5 billion this year.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the change of leadership in the House would not negatively affect the budget process in his chamber.

“All the Chamber has to do is approve the budget in third reading, then print and send [it] for us, ”Sotto said.

–With reporting by DJ Yap, Marlon Ramos, Julie M. Aurelio and Ben O. de Vera

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