Cayetano is your Speaker, Duterte declares

President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday that Taguig City Representative Alan Peter Cayetano is his bet for Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Duterte made the announcement at the oath-taking ceremony of newly appointed officials in Malacañang.

“I tried to distance myself from [the speakership race] but apparently I said it’s time that I talk,” Duterte said.

“Your Speaker will be Alan Peter Cayetano,” he said, as he apologized for being nearly two hours late to the event because he had a meeting with three contenders. A photo of the meeting in the Palace was released by the camp of Senator Christopher "Bong" Go. 

Cayetano was Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 elections and former foreign affairs secretary.

The President said Cayetano will share the term with Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco. He also said Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez will be the next majority leader.

Of the three, only Velasco is Duterte's party mate in the PDP-Laban. 

Cayetano is a member of the Nacionalista Party and was Duterte's running mate in the 2016 elections.

Romualdez is the leader of the Lakas-CMD.

All three, Duterte said, are his friends.

Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Cayetano will serve as top House leader in the first 15 months, then the next 21 months, the Speaker will be Velasco.

Panelo said the three candidates for the post sought the assistance and help of the President to settle the conflict among them.

“Since the election of the Speaker has resulted in a bitter and fractious rivalry that threatens the break-up of political allies, the President, to save the unity of the alliance and avert its fragmentation, obliged to the request of the three candidates, who to their credit agree to respect the choice of President Duterte,” the Palace spokesman said.

The new officers of the House will be elected at the opening of the 18th Congress on July 22, the day Duterte will deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address.

Duterte said it was up to House members whether to heed his endorsement.

"That is their privilege actually. I was just trying to end up the impasse. Nobody was sure to vote for whom and they kept on asking sino ‘yung kandidato ni Presidente?" he said.

"I hate to intrude. But apparently, considering what happened in the last few days, and malapit na ang session, sabi ko na my statement would really be, 'It’s time for me to talk.'

He said the term-sharing deal was agreed upon in order to "do away with the conflict."

"Pareho ko kayo kaibigan, pareho ko kayo naka utang na loob ako. So term-sharing na lang," he said, adding Cayetano was the first among the candidates to tell him that he wanted to be Speaker.

The President also said him endorsing candidates for House leadership had nothing do with separation of powers.

"It has nothing to do with the independence of the legislative body. Up to that point, it's all politics. Ganun 'yan. But interfering in the legislation and in the workings of the Lower House, ibang istorya 'yon. You are not interfering because we are choosing only the leaders," he said.

Duterte said he did not talk to Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab, the candidate of Sara Duterte-led Hugpong ng Pagbabago regional party, in the process of deciding who to back for Speaker. —NB, GMA News