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MANILA, Philippines – Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco will take over as Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 14, following President Duterte’s intervention in the simmering dispute, the Inquirer learned Tuesday night. .
The president met with Velasco and Acting President Alan Peter Cayetano in Malacanang with their respective sponsors to resolve, once and for all, the dispute between the two men for leadership of the 300-member chamber.
Multiple sources confirmed to the Inquirer that the parties reached an agreement, in the presence of the President, to honor their original shared term agreement “15-21”, in which Cayetano would serve as Spokesperson for the first 15 months of the XVIII Congress. with Velasco assuming the position for the remaining 21 months.
The rotation will take place on October 14, said one of the House insiders. No other details were immediately available. The Cayetano camp did not respond to requests for confirmation or comment.
“The [laban] (the fight is over). # 1521, ”Ron Munsayac, CEO and chair of the public information office of Velasco’s Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan Party (PDP-Laban) wrote on Twitter, using a boxing glove emoji.
Cayetano belongs to the Nationalist Party and, in recent days, he has sought to consolidate his alliances in the coalition, including with the National Unity Party, Lakas-CMD and groups of lists of allied parties.
Velasco, for his part, fought to secure the backing of those close to Mr. Duterte. He and his wife Rowena Velasco are close to the president’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
A source previously told the Inquirer that young Duterte would be at the Malacanang meeting to support Velasco’s cause. “No comment,” the mayor responded when contacted for comment.
It was Duterte who forced the two rivals to reach the original agreement in July 2019, shortly before Cayetano began his term.
The resolution ended days of rumors and speculation about the speech.
But it remains to be seen whether Tuesday’s agreement will be fulfilled, since in recent days manifestos from various political blocs were issued, calling for the retention of Cayetano as president amid the pandemic.
Still, the meeting has resolved the issue of the president’s thoughts on the subject of public speaking.
In a meeting with House and Senate leaders in Malacañang on September 16, the president left an enigmatic comment, “Kawawa naman si Lord (Regrettable Lord),” which had drawn varying interpretations from the two camps.
Tension has filled the House 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 2021 budget. [ac]
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