House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has implicated Marinduque Congressman Lord Allan Velasco on the alleged coup against him. Cayetano said the latter has long been involved in plans to oust him from his post.
“Hindi ako paikot-ikot. He’s been involved and he’s involved in the intrigue sa Congress. So, ang usapan namin, during my time, suportahan niya ‘ko. During his time, suportahan ko siya. Pero hindi talaga ako nakatikim ng suporta sa kanya (Our agreement is we support each other during our terms but I never got any support from him),” Cayetano claimed.
Reports recently circulated that the speakership will be vacated depending on the move of Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte.
Velasco stated in his Facebook page on Tuesday evening that his silence is not equivalent to turning his back on the covenant.
“Being party to the term-sharing agreement, one does not and should not seek to compete with the current Speaker as a gentleman’s agreement is in force. We will have our turn at the right time,” Velasco added.
Cayetano ally Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte expressed confidence that Cayetano may win the majority of votes in case the term-sharing agreement does not proceed as planned.
“Kung hindi niyo na gusto ang panunungkulan ko bilang Speaker, hindi kailangan ng coup d‘etat. Ipakita niyo lang sa akin na ang majority ayaw na sa akin at magiging very smooth ang transition natin (If you no longer want my leadership, there’s no need for a coup d’état. Just prove that the majority doesn’t like me anymore and the transition will be very smooth),” Cayetano dared.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured on Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte will respect the decision of the congressmen on the matter.
“So the President is hoping that the Speaker and Congressman Velasco will honor their agreement, but ultimately the decision will be the decision of the individual congressmen,” Roque stated.
“Ang sabi po niya, to quote talaga is: ‘Kung walang numero si Lord Allan, wala siyang magagawa’ (What he really said was: ‘If Lord Allan does not have the numbers, he cannot do anything’),” Roque added. – Report from Daniel Manalastas
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