(Eagle News)–The House of Representatives on Tuesday, Oct. 13, ratified the election of Rep. Lord Velasco as Speaker, as Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano announced he stepped down from the post.
With a vote of 186, or more than the majority required, lawmakers officially installed the Marinduque representative as the new Speaker at the Batasang Pambansa, hours before the special session of Congress called by President Rodrigo Duterte for the passage of the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget.
On Monday, allies of Velasco already “elected” him as Speaker, but Cayetano had called the election a sham, noting it was done outside of Batasang Pambansa premises.
The “election” took place with House sessions suspended supposedly until Nov. 16, a move some critics have said was Cayetano’s attempt at retaining the Speakership despite a “gentleman’s agreement” he agreed to, and which was brokered by the President in July.
Under the pact, Cayetano would serve as Speaker for the first 15 months, or until October, while the remaining 21 months would be served by Velasco.
On Tuesday, the Palace said President Duterte called Cayetano and Velasco to Malacañang for a meeting to ensure the passage of the proposed national budget for 2021, which was supposed to be used against COVID-19.
The President also earlier said he was fed up with the politics in the House, and urged House lawmakers to prioritize the passage of the proposed national budget instead.
In a Facebook Live post on Tuesday, Cayetano, however, announced his “irrevocable resignation” as Speaker, ending weeks of tensions between Cayetano’s and Velasco’s camps that threatened to hold the proposed national budget hostage.
In his video, Cayetano apologized to his staff, whom he said he did not inform about his resignation beforehand.