Duterte’s Speaker bet Alan Cayetano eyes longer terms for elected officials

President Rodrigo Duterte's chosen one for Speaker, Taguig Representative Alan Peter Cayetano, on Wednesday night said that he would push for longer term limits for elected officials.

Cayetano made the remark before House members who are known to have supported the speakership bid of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, who introduced him during the meeting as "the next Speaker."

"While we will push for federalism, I think there is a way that the Senate will agree that we push either for four years, no term limit; or five years, three-term limit," Cayetano said.

"It is not a political thing. It is a practical thing," he added.

‘No term extension’

Cayetano said that he was not looking to extend the terms of incumbent officials and even referred to the term-sharing agreement he reached with Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco.

"Hindi po yun ang sinasabi ko," Cayetano said of term extension. "Fifteen-21 na nga e," he added.

Cayetano under the deal will be Speaker for 15 months while Velasco, Duterte's party mate in the PDP-Laban, will lead the House of Representatives in the last 21 months of the 18th Congress.

"Baka iniisip ng iba, gusto kong gawing 4-5 years para ma-extend kami, hindi po yun ang sinabi ko,"" he said.

Reality

The Taguig congressman said that while lawmakers are tasked to legislate bills, they also face "administrative restrictions and limitations."

"You are elected in May, you take office in June, yung 6 months you are still getting organized.  Kung kalaban mo yung nakaupo, ubos na yung pondo, nag-eexplain ka pa sa tao bakit hindi mo nade-deliver lahat, and then your budget starts in January, and that's only 1 year, 2020, because in 2021, everyone's thinking of 2022, and then the cycle starts again," he said.

"I've known many politicians who are great planners, talo sa eleksyon, kasi ano bang na-produce mo in 3 years?  But, I've also known a lot of politicians who, election budget na lang every year and keeps getting reelected, and it's idealistic to say na hindi dapat ganyan, but when you're a politician, you have to be both idealistic and practical," Cayetano said.

He added, "Napaka-idealistic mo, talo ka naman, so you cannot implement your idealism.  Napaka-praktikal mo, makukulong ka naman, so that's the reality of life."—NB/LDF, GMA News