Recto says party-mate Cayetano welcome to return to 'smaller but smarter House'

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Tuesday took the time to appreciate Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano's leadership in the House after the latter announced his irrevocable resignation.

''His stint as House leader may be short, but it was spectacular. He passed all the bills the Palace requested, plus those which are products of the House’s policy ingenuity, which he harnessed in full," Recto said in a statement.

The senator and Cayetano both belong to the Nacionalista Party.

"This is just a pit stop in Alan’s long career. He will be back—I doubt if he’ll ever leave the political scene as a leading voice. It will be ages before we will come to read the requiem for this heavyweight. Not today," he added.

Recto also expressed confidence that Cayetano could even make a comeback in the Senate if the latter would prefer to do so in the future.

"While he had changed chambers, he was constantly in touch with his old colleagues in the Smaller but Smarter House. He is always welcome here, and the polls show that it will be a walk in the park for him," the senator said.

He also commended Cayetano's work as former Foreign Affairs Secretary.

"I am writing this to thank him for his service to the nation as House leader. Old school it may sound, but in this age when the new is hailed and the old is forgotten, I believe that the courtesy of appreciating the good a person had done should continue as an honored tradition," Recto added.

Earlier in the day, Cayetano tendered his irrevocable resignation as House Speaker.

Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco, on the other hand, was elected the new leader of the lower chamber.

The two congressmen reached a gentleman's agreement in 2019—a term-sharing arrangement where the first 15 months would be for Cayetano and the next 21 for Velasco. The squabble on the deal, however, erupted as Cayetano's end of term neared.

Amid the Speakership row, Cayetano suspended the session in the lower chamber last week following the approval of the national budget only on second reading. He was planning to pass 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. -MDM, GMA News