Romero: Cayetano did not resign, he was ousted

Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano did not resign but was ousted from the speakership post, 1-Pacman party-list Representative Michael Romero said Wednesday. 

Romero made the comment a day after 186 House members ratified the election of Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco as the new Speaker of the House—an election that was done in an informal session outside Batasang Pambansa on Monday. 

Minutes after Velasco’s Monday election as Speaker was ratified in a plenary session on Tuesday before noon, Cayetano went on Facebook Live to tender his irrevocable resignation.

“I would like to refute this statement. 186 lawmakers elected Lord Allan Velasco as Speaker. He was ousted as Speaker of the House,” Romero said in an ANC interview. 

“He did not resign. For what purpose? He was already ousted a day before. These are facts,” Romero added.

Cayetano initially refused to yield the speakership to Velasco by October 14 as both parties agreed upon with President Rodrigo Duterte. Under the term sharing deal that was brokered by no less than the President in July 2019, Cayetano will sit as Speaker for 15 months then Velasco will have the next 21 months.

Cayetano went as far as moving to adjourn the session on October 6 until November 16, leaving the third and final reading approval of the proposed P4.5 trillion budget for 2021—the first national budget amid the COVID-19 pandemic—unfinished. 

Cayetano’s move was "rebuffed" by Duterte, according to Buhay party-list Representative Lito Atienza, when the Chief Executive called for a special session from October 13 to 16 for the House to deliberate and approve the national budget for 2021 on third and final reading.

This move by the President was followed by Velasco’s election as Speaker, an event that turned out to be the beginning of the end for Cayetano.

READ: Timeline: The Cayetano-Velasco speakership row

Romero, whom Cayetano ousted as deputy speaker amid the speakership row, noted that Cayetano’s fall from power is a lesson that the House cannot be led by a Speaker’s clique. 

“The House is made up of 300 members. You cannot lead with only 20 to 24 exclusive members of the group,” Romero said.

“This is a lesson for leaders who want to be Speaker in the future. Hindi ito barkadahan. The House of Congress is the House of the People,” Romero added.

GMA News Online has contacted the Cayetano camp and Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte for comment but has yet to receive replies as of posting time. —With a report from Erwin Colcol/KG, GMA News