De Lima: House speakership row ‘mafia-like’

Senator Leila De Lima on Wednesday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte's interference with the House speakership.

The opposition lawmaker despised how Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco brought their term-sharing agreement issue to Malacanang on Tuesday night.

"Ganito mag-away ang mga mafia. Pupunta sa Godfather para ayusin ang gulo nila. Hindi mafia ang turing dapat sa Kongreso," De Lima said in a statement on Twitter.

The House speaker shall not be one who kowtows to the President, according to De Lima.

"Hindi dapat ginagawang Speaker ang mga tuta ng Pangulo. Para na ring si Duterte ang ginawang Speaker kung ganito rin lang ang nangyayari sa House. Puro tuta na lang ni Duterte ang mga namumuno sa dapat ay isang hiwalay at independyenteng sangay ng gobyerno," she said.

Cayetano was the running mate of Duterte in 2016 while Velasco is a partymate of the president in the PDP-Laban.

The two reached a "gentlemen's agreement" in 2019 wherein Cayetano would be at the helm of the House for the first 15 months while Velasco would have the post for the next 21 months.

Cayetano's 15-month tenure is set to end in October.

After the congressmen's meeting with Duterte, the information that Velasco would assume the speakership on October 14 surfaced—a claim disputed by some supporters of Cayetano.

Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, who was present during the said meeting, deferred making other comments as he invoked respect for the internal processes of the House.

"What is far more important is for the entire Congress to continue deliberating on the legislative agenda and priorities of the Duterte Administration, including the 2021 national budget and other priority measures," he added.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said that the upper chamber will continue to fulfill its mandate, whoever sits as the House Speaker.

"No matter who leads the House, the Senate—or at least like-minded senators who choose to be the vanguards against the legislative abuse of the power of the purse—will not be affected," Lacson said.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III earlier said the senators can work with the lower house no matter who its Speaker is. — BM, GMA News