Cayetano tries to scuttle the deal and cause new voters

Last updated on May 6th, 2021 at 07:45 am

Buhay party-list Representative Lito Atienza on Monday reported that Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano was moving to declare all vacancies vacant in the House of Representatives and call for a new vote on the speakership to void his term-sharing agreement with Representative Lord Allan Velasco of Marinduque.

In Monday’s interview with reporters, Atienza said he had details.

The party-list rep insisted that no effort was made to oust Cayetano from his position, and that the supposed coup plans were merely a display staged by the Speaker himself.

Cayetano earlier alleged Velasco was seeking to have him replaced as Speaker by offering lawmakers leadership roles and assuring them of increased budget allocations for their districts.

By October Velasco was expected to assume the role of Cayetano in compliance with their “15-21” term-sharing deal, which was brokered at the beginning of the 18th Congress by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Meanwhile, Cayetano himself said he was unable to foresee what would happen in the plenary, but he insisted that his fellow lawmakers would be free to oust him from his post if he no longer had their respect and trust.