Pro-Cayetano solons call on Velasco camp to ‘focus on budget’

Lawmakers who are supportive of the continued tenure of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Sunday urged their colleagues to set aside politics and veer away from causing a further commotion at the House of Representatives and instead focus on passing the proposed 2021 national budget.

They made their call even as they accused allies of Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco of rallying lawmakers to elect Velasco as Speaker on Monday morning.

"We hope and appeal to the members na huwag na nilang guluhin ang procedure. Isantabi muna nila ang gusto nilang panggugulo. Gawin na lang yan after the budget," Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte said in a virtual press conference on Sunday.

Villafuerte showed screenshots of Viber messages supposedly coming from Ilocos Sur Representative Kristine Singson-Meehan and 1-PACMAN party-list Representative Mikee Romero calling on their colleagues for a "leadership change" in the House plenary on Monday.

The Viber messages also surfaced after Velasco met with presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in Davao City.

Singson-Meehan and Romero have yet to respond to GMA News Online to confirm the said messages.

For Villafuerte, the call for the election of Velasco on Monday is against what President Rodrigo Duterte wants, and that is for the House to resume and finish its deliberations on the 2021 budget.

"This is disobeying the President. They want to have a plenary session, an illegal session on Monday for the simple purpose of leadership change. E ang utos ng Pangulo budget muna saka na muna yung pulitika o leadership change," he said.

The President on Friday called for a special session of the House from October 13 to 16 “to resume the congressional deliberations on the proposed 2021 national budget and to avoid any further delays on its prompt passage.”

Villafuerte said if Velasco's supporters want to elect him as Speaker, they are free to do so after the budget has been passed by the House.

"That's prelude. Are they saying guguluhin ba nila sa Tuesday ang session? Will they invoke leadership change on Tuesday? Which I think is not in tune with the President's call," he said.

"They can do whatever they want pero sila ang lumalabag sa kagustuhan ng Pangulo at dapat managot sila sa taumbayan kung ma-delay ang budget," he added.

Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay also echoed the statement of Villafuerte.

"Anytime during the three years na term namin, anybody can just stand up and if you are not happy with the leadership or if you are not happy with the Speaker, anyone can stand up and make a motion to vacate the seats," he said.

For his part, Caloocan City Representative Edgar Erice said any call that is not relevant to the budget is "counterproductive" to the agenda set by the President.

"Kung ano man yan, after na, kapag naaprubahan na, pwede naming pag-usapan kahit ano. Pero ngayon, budget muna. Kapag iba ang panawagan, ang kinokontra nila diyan ay Pangulo at ang kapakanan ng mamamayang Pilipino," he said.

Meanwhile, Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor urged Velasco and his supporters to use their "clout" to have the budget passed on time.

"Mas maganda pa para sa kanyang disposisyon kung ang liderato niya ay gagamitin niya sa budget at kung ano ang hinihiling ng Pangulo at ano ang kinakailangan ng bayan. Pero para gamitin sa pulitika, yun ang panawagan ko, huwag naman sana," he said.

In the end, Pichay and Defensor reiterated Villafuerte's call for their colleagues who support Velasco to put the budget and the people ahead of their concerns.

"Maliwanag ang panawagan ng ating Pangulo na kailangan talagang ipasa natin yung budget sa lalong madaling panahon. So let us not be distracted by personal ambitions, unahin na muna ang budget," Pichay said.

"Nananawagan din ako sa kabilang kampo, may panahon naman diyan para sa pulitika. May panahon para isagawa natin yung pagpapapalit na gusto nila o yung sinasabi nilang nominasyon para sa liderato ng ating Kongreso. May panahon para diyan pero ito panahon muna ng ating mga kababayan," Defensor, for his part, said. — DVM, GMA News