House majority wants Cayetano-Velasco deal 'respected,' Salceda claims

Speaker Alan Cayetano should yield the Speakership to Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco out of respect to the majority, as well as to the gentlemen's agreement between him and Velasco, according to Albay Representative Joey Salceda on Monday.

Salceda made the call on the same day Velasco allies are set to gather to declare the Speaker post vacant and elect him as new House leader.

“Nagkaisa ang PDP-Laban na suportahan ang new Speaker. Wala naman talagang problema kung 'yung gentlemen’s agreements ay nasunod. Hindi iyon kontra sa national interest,” Salceda, a Velasco ally, told ANC.

Salceda said there are 167 congressmen supporting Velasco.

“It is a collective judgment of the big majority of congressmen that the gentlemen's agreement should be respected,” he said.

Salceda said Monday’s meeting of pro-Velasco lawmakers is above board and would clarify who should be a speaker by majority vote, paving the way for smooth transition ahead of the budget deliberations.

“With respect to the leadership it was the gentlemen’s agreement and there’s a majority of congressmen to support Velasco. Wala naman akong kontra kay Speaker Cayetano, nagkataon lang na he will be challenged and the majority [will] support Velasco. It is really the will of the majority,” Salceda said.

“This is not in an adversarial context,” he added.

Both Cayetano and Velasco, as well as their respective supporters, met with President Rodrigo Duterte last September 29 to break the impasse where it was agreed upon that Cayetano will resign from his post on October 14, the day that the Cayetano-led House set for the approval of the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for next year on third and final reading.

On October 6, however, Cayetano suspended the session after passing the national budget bill on second reading. The move scuttled the timeline for the first ever national budget amid the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting Duterte to call for a special session from October 13 to 16.

“The gentlemen’s agreement needs to be executed, at iyong requirement noon ay support of the majority. This requirement has been met for Velasco,” said Salceda, vice chairman of the House appropriations committee. 

Under the term-sharing agreement brokered last year by Duterte himself, Cayetano would be speaker for 15 months and Velasco would take over in the succeeding 21 months. —KBK, GMA News