SPEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano is prepared to relinquish his position to Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco in October if President Duterte will tell him to do so.
While the Speaker acknowledged his term-sharing agreement with Velasco, he reiterated his position that the President has the final say on the matter, being the head of the administration coalition.
“Ako, ang personal commitment ko po sa ating Pangulo bilang head ng koalisyon, maghihintay ako ng advice n’ya sa tamang oras. Having said that, wala naman po nagbabago sa aming mga napag-usapan (My personal commitment to the President, being head of the coalition, is I’ll wait for his advice at the right time. Having said that, nothing has changed in our agreement),” he told radio dzBB.
Under the term-sharing agreement, Cayetano will serve as speaker for 15 months or until this October while Velasco will sit for the remaining 21 months of the 18th Congress.
While the President brokered the deal last year before the opening of the 18th Congress, he can still change his mind and decide to let Cayetano stay.
Cayetano said he had a prior agreement with Velasco that only the two committee chairmen will be replaced when he steps down.
Last February, Cayetano accused Velasco of plotting a coup to oust him ahead of their scheduled transfer of power which will have to be subjected to a plenary vote by all members present.
Cayetano has said it would be best for Velasco to hold his horses and wait for Duterte to make him the leader of the House of Representatives instead of plotting a coup against the present leadership.
Cayetano earlier said the coup was hatched because of the House leadership’s investigation into the P95 billion in debts that power generators owe government.
One of the companies being investigated then by a House joint committee is the South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC), an affiliate of San Miguel Corp. of businessman Ramon Ang who is close to Velasco, who chairs the committee on energy, and his wife Rowena.
NOT INVITED?
Velasco’s name was belatedly added to the list of congressmen who will attend the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) today.
Velasco was one of five new attendees among 30 congressmen who will physically attend the event. The lawmaker’s name was not in the initial list of House attendees last Wednesday, July 22.
The initial list is composed of the following: Speaker Cayetano; Deputy Speakers Johnny Pimentel, Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Dan Fernandez, Raneo Abu, Dong Gonzales, Rodante Marcoleta; Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez; Minority Leader Benny Abante; Deputy Minority LeaderJanette Garin; Secretary General Jose Luis Montales; Deputy Secretary General Brian Raymund Yamsuan; Sergeant-at-Arms Ramon Apolinario; and congressmen Robert Ace Barbers, Michael Defensor, Elpidio Barzaga, Eric Go Yap, Lani Cayetano, Juan Miguel Arroyo, Boying Remulla, Wes Gatchalian, Chicoy Alvarez, Divine Yu, Jonathan Sy-Alvarado, and Bambol Tolentino.
Presidential son and Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte is also a late addition to the final list of attendees along with Reps. Wilter “Sharky” Palma II of Zamboanga Sibugay, David “JayJay” Suarez of Quezon, and Claudine Diana Bautista of DUMPER-PTDA party-list.
PRIORITY BILLS
Cayetano vowed to continue working hard to approve priority measures in the second regular session that will open this morning, before the President’s SONA in the afternoon.
He said the proposed P4.3 trillion national budget for 2021 will be the number one priority of the House, especially that the country is battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“I think for the whole month of August, our energy will go to the 2021 budget because while it’s already hard to craft a budget even in the face of certainties, it’s harder now that there’s uncertainty,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano said the House will push for a P250 to P500 billion anti-COVID or COVID-related programs under the proposed 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
He said Charter change will be discussed in the committee level but will not be a priority, especially since he does not see the government holding a plebiscite soon because of the need for physical distancing.
The Speaker said the Bayanihan II bill or the extension of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020” or Republic Act (RA) No. 11469 is also a priority measure, being the government’s top COVID response measure.
Majority leader Martin Romualdez said he expects the 2021 spending program “will likely be a stimulus budget to revive the economy, which is reeling from lockdowns due to the pandemic.
“We also expect that the national budget for next year will focus on the health sector and the improvement of its facilities nationwide,” he added.
