House Minority throws support behind Cayetano amid power row

House Minority members on Sunday backed House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano amid an ongoing row over the leadership of the lower chamber of Congress.

In a manifesto, 16 Minority lawmakers said the House “would be best served with the current leadership at the helm––especially now that we are in the middle of budget deliberations that are crucial to the recovery of our nation from the COVID-19 pandemic."

The manifesto was signed by Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr., Senior Deputy Minority Leader Janette Garin, Deputy Minority Leader Jose Christopher Belmonte, Deputy Minority Leader Sharee Ann Tee Tan, Deputy Minority Leader Jose Singson, Jr., Assistant Deputy Minority Leader Stella Quimbo, Assistant Deputy Minority Leader Argel Joseph Cabatba, and Assistant Deputy Minority Leader Gabriel Bordado.

The other signatories were Cavite 3rd District Representative Alex Advincula, A TEACHER Partylist Representative Ma. Victoria Umali, RECOBODA Partylist Representative Godofredo Guya, KALINGA Partylist Representative Irene Saulog, Agusan Del Norte 1st District Representative Lawrence Fortun, BHW Partylist Representative Angelica Natasha Co, APEC Partylist Representative Sergio Dagooc, and Zamboanga Del Norte 3rd District Representative Isagani Amatong.

The Minority lawmakers underscored that Cayetano’s leadership provided them with “sufficient democratic space” in deliberations.

“While we have, for the most part, not always agreed on the outcome of our deliberations, we nonetheless appreciate that the members of the Minority have been given opportunities to make our views known and to advance our positions,” they said.

However, the lawmakers also recognized that "that the choice of House leadership rightfully belongs to our esteemed colleagues in the Majority, and as tradition dictates, it is the Majority that chooses the Speaker of the House."

“We submit that it may be more prudent for us to table this discussion in the meantime, as our country is currently sailing through rough waters—and in such situations it may be advisable to help the captain who has navigated us safely through this squall, rather than be sidetracked by a debate over whose hands should be on the rudder,” they said.

Under a term-sharing agreement, Cayetano will be speaker for 15 months, after which Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco will take over.

Cayetano earlier accused Velasco and his camp of masterminding a House “coup plot.” 

The House Speaker flew to Davao City over the weekend to meet with Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte, son of President Rodrigo Duterte. — BM, GMA News