Paolo Duterte refuses to take sides in House speakership row

Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte has refused to take sides in the lingering speakership row at the House of Representatives, saying that the two lawmakers fighting for the position are his "good friends."

In a statement, the son of President Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged that while there is a term-sharing deal and Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco has all the right to assert his claim to the position, there are still many lawmakers who support the continued tenure of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.

"It can’t be denied that such a term-sharing agreement was made before. Because of this, Congressman Velasco has the right to assert his claim to the Speakership. However, we have also seen that a considerable number of our colleagues still support Speaker Cayetano," he said.

"As I am all for a unified House, and given the value I place in every member of Congress, I refuse to make any statement that will favor or damage either of my two good friends who are both asserting their right to be our Speaker," he added.

Rep. Duterte, nevertheless, admitted that he was saddened by the outcome of the infighting between the two lawmakers over the speakership.

"Due to this issue on the term-sharing agreement, Congress is currently mired in what seems to be a battle between two people I’m close with," he said.

"I am saddened that it has come to this — a House divided. And if we remain a House divided, we will fail in our mandate to serve the people as their representatives," he added.

In the event that lawmakers are called to elect the leader of the House of Representative, Duterte urged his colleagues to vote for the one who is committed, who can fight and stand with them, and unify them all despite their differences.

"When we do make that decision, I hope we can find it in our hearts to vote for someone, not just for convenience or affiliation, but whom we feel strongly can represent the House with the dignity that it deserves," he said.

Whatever the result of that election would be, Rep. Duterte asked his fellow lawmakers to remain respectful and support whoever is the winner.

"At the end of this episode, I hope we can go beyond politics and remember that more than power, it is the relationships we’ve formed in these halls of Congress and our duties to the people, that matter most," he said.

Rep. Duterte earlier confirmed sending a text message to lawmakers, saying that he would ask the Mindanao Bloc to declare the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions vacant amid issues involving budgetary allocations for the legislative districts of congressmen.

"The text message that I sent to another lawmaker — and is now making the rounds — was an expression of my personal dismay upon hearing the concerns of my fellow lawmakers," he said.

The motion was supposed to be made during the House's plenary session on September 21, but the said session ended with no move to declare House leadership seats vacant.

The House on Tuesday suspended its session until November 16, even as there is still supposedly a turnover of the speakership to Velasco on October 14.

With no session of the House on that date, there can be no formal proceedings to transfer the position to the Marinduque lawmaker.

Velasco's allies claimed that they have the "majority" to elect him as Speaker. With this, Cayetano challenged Velasco to show him his numbers if he really has it.

Under the original term-sharing agreement, Cayetano would hold the speakership for 15 months and Velasco would take over to finish the succeeding 21 months. —KBK, GMA News