Cayetano: Velasco will not win speakership election in House

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday forecasted that Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco will not be elected as Speaker of the House.

In a speech, Cayetano said that Velasco might win if he steps down as Speaker, but he might only be ousted after a week.

"Under the Constitution, you need the majority of all members to be elected speaker. So I can step aside. But I cannot guarantee he will be elected," Cayetano said of Velasco.

"In fact, I will make a fearless forecast: Hindi siya mananalo. Or if I step aside, mananalo siya after one week makukudeta siya. Bakit? Maraming popular sa Kongreso," he added.

Cayetano reiterated what his supporters had been saying as regards Velasco not participating in the affairs of the House.

"Sabi ko, 'Lord, sorry ha. COVID e. Nagtago ka e. 'Di ko alam kung nasa aircon ka na hotel o kung nasaan ka,'" Cayetano said.

"Kami nasa distrito namin, kami nandito. Nakailang budget hearing dito, paglabas na paglabas malalaman namin, buong opisina ng ka-budget namin nagka-COVID, takbo kami, hiwalay sa pamilya, magpapa-swab na naman," he added.

Last week, Velasco denied that his silence did not mean he was already disinterested or had turned his back on the term-sharing deal.

"'Mum on issues' means I just don’t want to call attention to myself. Being party to the term-sharing agreement, one does not and should not seek to compete with the current Speaker as a gentleman’s agreement is in force. We will have our turn at the right time," he said. -NB, GMA News