Cayetano welcomes Duterte's call for special session

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday accepted President Rodrigo Duterte's call for a special session next week.

"As we commit our nation and the People’s 2021 Budget to the Almighty, we welcome President Duterte’s call for a Special Session of Congress on October 13 to 16," Cayetano said in a Facebook post.

"We trust his wisdom on how to address issues concerning the budget, and thank him for his continued confidence by allowing Congress to pass the General Appropriations Bill free from the specter of politicking and intrigues that we had originally sought to avoid," he added.

Cayetano included the bible verse Psalm 37 : 5-6 on his post which read: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday."

The House made a sudden suspension of session last Tuesday after cutting short the debates for the budget bill and approving it on second reading.

The unprecedented move came amid the unresolved speakership row between Cayetano and Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco—ahead of October 14 when a change in leadership is expected.

Duterte's call for a special session was made after he warned the two congressmen—both his allies—to resolve the conflict and the budget impasse.

Technically, Congress is still in session. The official legislative calendar based on Concurrent Resolution No. 13 states that the session shall be suspended from October 17 to November 15. -NB, GMA News