Sotto: Regardless who the Speaker is, House should pass the budget

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday said the primary concern of the upper chamber is the House approval of the proposed P4.5-trillion budget on third reading amid the change in Speakership.

"All the HOR has to do is approve the budget on third reading then print and submit to us regardless of who the Speaker is," Sotto said in a message.

This was Sotto's answer to a query on his expectations from the new House leadership after the lower chamber ratified the election of Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco as its leader

Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, tendered his irrevocable resignation in a Facebook Live video shortly after.

Last week, Cayetano suspended the session in the lower chamber after approving the national budget only on second reading. He was planning to approve it on third and final reading once session resumes on November 16.

But President Rodrigo Duterte stepped in by calling for a special session on October 13 to 16. Before this special session even started, the congressmen already convened in a "session" outside Batasang Pambansa on Monday and "elected" Velasco as the new Speaker. — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News