Senate minority sees patterns from Alan Peter Cayetano's term as House Speaker

After failing to call for a session at the Senate, the minority bloc brought up the past actions of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano back when he was Speaker of the House of Representatives.

According to Ian Cruz’s report in “24 Oras” on Tuesday, the minority senators are questioning whether Cayetno is repeating what happened in the past when he refused to step down and convene the House of Representatives.

“The public has every right to ask whether SP Cayetano is repeating what he did in the House of Representatives, when questions were raised about a leader refusing to step aside, refusing to convene and holding up proceedings when the numbers were no longer certain,” the Senate minority bloc said in a statement.

GMA News is trying to get a comment from Cayetano regarding the issue.

The minority is referring to the House leadership crisis in 2020 under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. This was in connection with the term-sharing agreement between then-House Speaker Cayetano and then-Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco.

Under the agreement, Cayetano would serve as the Speaker of the 18th Congress for 15 months, to be replaced by Velasco for the succeeding 21 months.

However, as the agreed-upon turnover of leadership approached, while Cayetano was supposedly willing to step down, his supporters allegedly wanted him to remain as House Speaker.

The turnover of leadership was reportedly agreed to take place on October 14. However, more than a week before that date, Cayetano abruptly suspended the session on October 6—ahead of the originally scheduled date of October 16.

“We cannot simply go to the session hall even if 300 kami and say we resume. Because we can resume on November 16,” Cayetano said.

(We cannot simply go to the session hall even if we are 300 and say we resume. Because we can resume on November 16.)

This occurred at the height of the deliberations for the 2021 national budget. To avoid derailing the budget, then President Duterte had to intervene and subsequently ordered the conduct of a special session.

“Either you resolve the issue sa impasse ninyo diyan and pass the budget legally and constitutionally, ‘pag hindi ninyo ginawa, ako ang gagawa para sa inyo,” said Duterte in a briefing.

“Hindi ako nananakot, wala akong ambisyon manakot, wala rin akong ambisyon na tatagal dito sa puwestong p****** i**** ‘to na puro problema.”

(I am not threatening anyone, I have no ambition to threaten anyone, nor do I have any ambition to stay long in this s** of a b***h position that is full of nothing but problems.)

“Frustrated siya. Galit. Kita mo sabi niya sakin, ‘Lord di lang ikaw ang napahiya. Tayong dalawa,’ Sabi niya, ‘Nadenggoy tayo, Lord’. So kitang-kita natin, nagulat ako sa words ng Pangulo,” said Velasco.

(He was frustrated. Angry. You see, he told me, 'Lord, you're not the only one who was humiliated. Both of us were.' He said, 'We were played, Lord.' So we can clearly see it, I was shocked by the President's words.)

Following the President's order, Velasco's supporters held a session—not at the Batasang Pambansa, but at the Celebrity Sports Plaza in Quezon City. It was where Velasco was installed as the new Speaker.

“Ako’y nagpapasalamat sa ating mahal na Pangulo,—a man of his word—may isang salita, sa mabuting halimbawa and for inspiring young government servants like me,” said Velasco.

(I thank our dear President,—a man of his word—someone who keeps his word, for the good example, and for inspiring young government servants like me.)

But Cayetano did not step down quietly and questioned Velasco’s election as House Speaker.

“Ang gagawin niyo, papalitan lang ako? Hindi ako hahadlang? But you try to burn this House down, you are in for one hell of a fight,” he threatened.

When Velasco's camp headed to the House of Representatives the following day, they were met with the locked doors of the plenary hall.

“Look at what he is doing. He is preventing the plenary session hall of Congress. He is very childish,” said Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza.

To put an end the political showdown, Duterte once again intervened.

Following this, Cayetano apologized to the President, explaining that his understanding was that he would remain as Speaker until the deliberations on the 2021 budget were completed.

“Mr. President, if I made a mistake, mali ang reading ko, misunderstood ko na gusto mong ituloy at tapusin ko ang budget, ako’y humihingi ng paumanhin. Hindi ko intensyon, never, na ‘di ka sundin,” Cayetano apologized.

(Mr. President, if I made a mistake, if my reading was wrong, if I misunderstood that you wanted me to continue and finish the budget, I ask for your forgiveness. It was never my intention to disobey you.) —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA News