Erstwhile foes Cayetano and Romualdez powerhouse duo at work
Published Dec 26, 2019 12:00 am
By Ellson Quismorio
How can two people who contested the House Speakership in the 18th Congress click together as the Number 1 and 2 officials of the chamber?
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez gave some insights into what has made their tandem work so far.
"Magkaibigan kami talaga (We are friends in the first place)," Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) president and Leyte Representative Romualdez said in a recent press conference in Taguig City which he attended with Cayetano.
"Tama ‘yung sinabi ni Martin, matagal na rin kasi kaming magkaibigan (What Martin said is true, we have been friends for a long time)," said Cayetano, a Nacionalista Party member who represents Taguig-Pateros in the 300-strong Lower Chamber.
Cayetano thanked Romualdez for supporting his wife Lani Cayetano’s political career, whether it be running for mayor or congresswoman of Taguig. "Ako naman bilang asawa (As her spouse) I've always treasured that."
"During the campaign, we bumped into each other, nagkukwentuhan kami (we get to chat). Of course he tried to win me over, I tried to win him over," Cayetano said, referring to the tight Speakership battle with Romualdez ahead of the start of the 18th Congress last July.
The tussle for the chamber's top post also included a third serious contender in Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, President Rodrigo Duterte's own party-mate at Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
With Cayetano being his friend and Romualdez a key coalition partner, Duterte ultimately stepped in and proposed that Cayetano and Velasco split the Speakership for the next three years. Romualdez, on the other hand, would serve as majority leader.
"We had faith in his (Duterte’s) decision that it was blessed by God," Cayetano said, who would buckle down to work soon after with his "default" majority leader, Romualdez.
The majority leadership is described as a position of trust and confidence since he or she is entrusted by the Speaker to run proceedings in the plenary and make sure that legislative targets are met. It is for this reason that the Speaker traditionally handpicks the majority leader.
Despite not having this luxury, Cayetano worked well with Romualdez, with the House processing 900 bills and resolutions for an average of 28 measures per day during the 32 session dates conducted this year.
Among those tackled were the Duterte administration's four priority tax reform measures.
"We always put our respective constituency, the Filipino people, above all. Doon kami nagkakaisa (That's where we are united)," the Visayas solon said of his working relationship with the Speaker.
Romualdez said Congress just wants to help the Duterte government give Filipinos a more comfortable life.
"The Speaker plays an active role in engaging all the stakeholders, including the media. We actually share these values, these priorities, these initiatives. Nagkakaintindihan kami agad. Isang tinginan lang, OK na (We understand each other right away. Just one look and we're both on the same page)," he said.
Looking forward to 2020, Romualdez said: "We assure you that we will do a better job, we will be inspired to work harder, smarter and more efficiently. We will hit the ground running next year."
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez gave some insights into what has made their tandem work so far.
"Magkaibigan kami talaga (We are friends in the first place)," Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) president and Leyte Representative Romualdez said in a recent press conference in Taguig City which he attended with Cayetano.
"Tama ‘yung sinabi ni Martin, matagal na rin kasi kaming magkaibigan (What Martin said is true, we have been friends for a long time)," said Cayetano, a Nacionalista Party member who represents Taguig-Pateros in the 300-strong Lower Chamber.
Cayetano thanked Romualdez for supporting his wife Lani Cayetano’s political career, whether it be running for mayor or congresswoman of Taguig. "Ako naman bilang asawa (As her spouse) I've always treasured that."
"During the campaign, we bumped into each other, nagkukwentuhan kami (we get to chat). Of course he tried to win me over, I tried to win him over," Cayetano said, referring to the tight Speakership battle with Romualdez ahead of the start of the 18th Congress last July.
The tussle for the chamber's top post also included a third serious contender in Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, President Rodrigo Duterte's own party-mate at Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
With Cayetano being his friend and Romualdez a key coalition partner, Duterte ultimately stepped in and proposed that Cayetano and Velasco split the Speakership for the next three years. Romualdez, on the other hand, would serve as majority leader.
"We had faith in his (Duterte’s) decision that it was blessed by God," Cayetano said, who would buckle down to work soon after with his "default" majority leader, Romualdez.
The majority leadership is described as a position of trust and confidence since he or she is entrusted by the Speaker to run proceedings in the plenary and make sure that legislative targets are met. It is for this reason that the Speaker traditionally handpicks the majority leader.
Despite not having this luxury, Cayetano worked well with Romualdez, with the House processing 900 bills and resolutions for an average of 28 measures per day during the 32 session dates conducted this year.
Among those tackled were the Duterte administration's four priority tax reform measures.
"We always put our respective constituency, the Filipino people, above all. Doon kami nagkakaisa (That's where we are united)," the Visayas solon said of his working relationship with the Speaker.
Romualdez said Congress just wants to help the Duterte government give Filipinos a more comfortable life.
"The Speaker plays an active role in engaging all the stakeholders, including the media. We actually share these values, these priorities, these initiatives. Nagkakaintindihan kami agad. Isang tinginan lang, OK na (We understand each other right away. Just one look and we're both on the same page)," he said.
Looking forward to 2020, Romualdez said: "We assure you that we will do a better job, we will be inspired to work harder, smarter and more efficiently. We will hit the ground running next year."