Cayetano sees minimal changes after stepping down as Speaker

Speaker Alan Cayetano said on Friday that there would be minimal changes at the House of Representatives when the speakership was transferred to Representative Lord Alan Velasco this October, as agreed on in their leadership sharing deal.

“I’ve been communicating doon sa mga supporters ni Congressman Velasco na pag-usapan, ang magpapalit ako lang at tsaka [si Velasco], hindi ‘yong mga ibang chairmanships,” Cayetano said at the sidelines of the turnover of the Lower House’s donations for frontliners from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“As you all know, si Congressman [Martin] Romualdez, ang ating Majority Leader, will stay. That’s why siya ang ginawa kong co-chairman ng DCC (Defeat COVID-19 committee). So kung mangyari ‘yong transition, eh minimal ‘yong [changes],” the Speaker added.

Cayetano, however, would not say if the change in House leadership would affect how the Lower House crafted policies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It would be unfair for me to say na maapektuhan, di maapektuhan kasi self-serving. Kasi sasabihin ng iba, ikaw nandiyan so you’ll think you can do better,” Cayetano said.

“What’s important for me is to prepare for the transition, make sure malakas ang chairmanships,” Cayetano added.

In November 2019, Velasco said that he was sure that he would assume the Speakership in October 2020 as agreed upon with the administration allies - that Cayetano would serve as Speaker for the first 15 months of 18th Congress and that Velasco would take over for the final 21 months of the Duterte Administration.

“Sa akin lang ano, ang alam ko, an agreement is an agreement. A gentleman’s agreement. [And] based on the gentleman’s agreement, I will see you next year as the Speaker of the House,” Velasco told reporters then.

In March this year, Cayetano met with 35 members of the ruling party PDP-Laban more than a week after he accused Velasco of plotting his ouster as Speaker.

The 35 lawmakers in the meeting, however, did not include Velasco.

Velasco denied plotting against Cayetano, saying that he remained committed to the term-sharing deal he agreed on with Cayetano.

Velasco’s denial, however, was followed by the Cayetano-led majority bloc coalition voting to oust perceived Velasco allies, among them House Appropriations panel Chairman Isidro Ungab who was replaced by neophyte ACT-CIS Representative Eric Yap.

Meanwhile, Veteran lawmaker Doy Leachon of Oriental Mindoro lost his seat as a member of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal to Kabayan party-list Representative Ron Salo. — DVM, GMA News