Cayetano: ‘BTS sa Kongreso’ not a name, but a call to action

Former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday said that the "BTS sa Kongreso" tag he applied to the new group of House allies  he is part of is not its name but a "call to action."

The Taguig-Pateros congressman made the clarification after he earned the ire of netizens, especially fans of South Korean boyband BTS, when he said he was forming the group.

The former Speaker and five other members of the new bloc presented themselves before the media for the first time at a restaurant in Quezon City.

In their press conference, Cayetano claimed that the House under Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has been very much into politics and not on public service. This, he said, is why they are calling for a "back to service," or "BTS."

"Ang BTS ay simple lang na 'balik sa tamang serbisyo.' It was a call, not a name," he said.

"We are not calling ourselves 'BTS.' It is a call to action. 'Back to service,' 'bayanihan, tapang, at serbisyo,'" he added.

Cayetano also said that their new group is not just one bloc, but they are representing a "number of blocs coming together at an alliance."

"We're here to support the administration, be part of the majority but to be independent para whenever Congress drops the ball, we will be there to help carry the ball," he added.

Before announcing that BTS Sa Kongreso is not the name of his new group, Cayetano urged the boyband's fans not to add politics to his use of the initials in referring to this group of politicians.

Apart from Cayetano, comprising the new House bloc are six lawmakers who all lost leadership posts when the House transitioned into the Velasco leadership.

They are Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez, Batangas Representative Raneo Abu, Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor, Bulacan Representative Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, and Capiz Representative Fredenil Castro.

Villafuerte said they decided to come together to ensure oversight in the many laws enacted during their time as House leaders.

"We are forming this group basically, because we want to know, nawalan kasi ng oversight. Ano ba ang nangyari sa Bayanihan 1, sa Bayanihan 2?" he said.

"We want to bring back the House of Representatives being the House of the People rather than the House of Politics. Ang nangyari kasi masyado nang namumlitika. Hindi maganda yan sa image sa Kongreso, hindi yan maganda sa image ng ating mga kasama," he added.

Defensor, for his part, claimed that although they are only seven in the new group, they have other "sympathizers" and "supporters" who are part of the current House leadership and committee chairmanship.

"We represent different groups. I am allied with Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, I am allied with the Lakas party. And I will assure you, hindi ko na lang sasabihin ang mga pangalan nila, that we are a bigger group," he said.

"Naniniwala kami sa pamamagitan ng blokeng ito... hindi namin kailangan sumabay sa kumpas ng Kongreso ngayon. Gagawa kami ng kumpas dahil ito ang kailangan ng taumbayan. Kailangan kumumpas para yung batayang isyu na yan ay mapakinggan at magawan ng paraan," he added.

Cayetano, nevertheless, said that they would not counter each and every policy proposed under Velasco's leadership.

"Anything that he does that is not politics, that is for service, we will support. No problem," he said.

"Kung inuna niya ang hearings sa vaccination at sa PhilHealth, edi wala tayong problema. E ang inuuna Cha-cha [Charter change] e," he added.

Cayetano earlier questioned the timing of the "economic" Cha-cha hearings at the House, saying that anything not related to the COVID-19 pandemic should be set aside.

Before the new group presented itself on Thursday, the #CayetanoStopUsingBTS became one of the trending topics on Twitter on Wednesday morning, as netizens called on the former Speaker not to use the name of the South Korean boyband for his group's political motives.

BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys, formed back in 2010 and is composed of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook.

The group played a vital role in the continued popularity of K-Pop groups around in the 2010s. It is the first K-Pop group who received a nomination at the prestigious Grammy Awards for their hit song, "Dynamite." — BM, GMA News