"We don't really know what will happen in the future."
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano had this to say Sunday about the impending turnover of leadership in the 300-member Lower Chamber based on an agreement he made with Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Allan Velasco before the start of the 18th Congress.
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
"Usap-usapan naman kasi doon kung magpapalitan (kami) it's only the Speaker and baka isang committee (chairman) lang, and everyone else will stay (The talk regarding that is, if a turnover will occur, only the Speaker and maybe one committee chairman will change, and everyone else will stay)," Cayetano told DZBB radio in an interview.
"So we don't really know what will happen in the future at magkakaroon pa ng caucus yan at pag-uusap sa ating Pangulo (and there will still be a caucus and talk with the President). But I'd rather right now really focus din sa (on the national) budget," said the Taguig-Pateros congressman and former mutli-term senator.
Cayetano's latest remarks on his term-sharing agreement with Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) stalwart Velasco sounded somewhat less decisive when compared to his statement on the same topic only last June 26, or a day before President Duterte's fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Back then, Cayetano said: "Ako ang personal commitment ko po sa ating Pangulo bilang head ng koalisyon, maghihintay ako ng advice niya sa tamang oras. Having said that, wala naman po nagbabago sa aming mga napag-usapan (My personal commitment to the President as head of the coalition is, I will wait for his advice on the proper time to step down. Having said that, there are no changes to our agreement)."
As per the term-sharing deal, Cayetano, Duterte's running mate in the 2016 national polls, will serve as House Speaker for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress.
Velasco, who is Duterte's party-mate and a close friend of presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, will then take over for the final 21 months of the current Congress.
In the radio interview, Cayetano clarified that the 15th month of his term will be this October, meaning a turnover in leadership can't happen until November.
"There are major reforms na kailangan nating gawin. But let me assure everyone na kung anuman ang mangyari sa House, kung sino man ang lider sa House, napakarami pong magagaling na congresswomen and congressmen; yung sistema namin, yung professional secretariat napakagaling (There are major reforms that have to be done. But let me assure everyone that whatever happens in the House, whoever ends up as leader of the House, we have so many capable congresswomen and congressmen; our system, our professional secretariat is also very good)," he further said.
"Hindi talaga nag-break ang House of Representatives, nakatutok talaga kami sa COVID-19 (The House of Representatives never took a break, we were all focused on COVID-19). It's not perfect, we have to do so much more. Iyan po ang gagawin namin during this September and October. Yung budget muna ang tututukan namin (That's what we will do during September and October. We will focus on the budget)," he added.
In the recently released calendar for the ongoing second regular session, it was indicated that the chamber would be on break from October 17 to November 15. This means that there would be no plenary sessions during that period.
For Velasco to become Speaker, a House member--realistically, an ally of his--must declare the Speaker's seat vacant during session and call for a vote to fill up the position.
Cayetano has enjoyed the mandate of his colleagues since winning the Speakership vote in July 2019, and nowhere in the rules does it say that he or any Speaker for that matter could pass on this mandate to another member.
Judging by Cayetano's statements, a hypothetical call for a new Speakership vote in mid-October by virtue of the Velasco term-split would be deemed out of order since his 15- month tenure had yet to lapse.
At any rate, he also said Sunday that "nothing has changed" regarding the agreement.