Two partymates of President Rodrigo Duterte who were unceremoniously booted out from key House of Representatives posts for allegedly plotting to unseat Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano will be given vital roles and influential positions as soon as Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco assumes the speakership.
This was revealed by a highly-placed source even as Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel clarified Tuesday that Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez should be considered well-entrenched in his post if the gentleman’s agreement for a shared term for the speakership between Cayetano and Velasco were to be strictly followed.
Contrary to the claim of a Velasco camp source that Romualdez will be replaced, Pimentel said the agreement brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte provides that Romualdez, who also made a bid for the speaker last year, will serve for three terms.
Earlier, two sources from the Velasco group confirmed that Romualdez will be given his walking papers once Velasco becomes the speaker. They cited loyalty issues as a main reason for the decision.
A highly-placed source told the Manila Bulletin that the Velasco team is ready to take over but will launch a minor revamp of committee assignments to pave the way for an equitable and fair distribution based on party affiliation in the majority bloc.
The return of Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations is also expected. He will replace incumbent chairman and ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Eric Go Yap, who, despite being a neophyte solon, has won praise from among his colleagues in successfully steering the ongoing budget hearings.
On the other hand, Mindoro Occidental Rep. Salvador Leachon, who was relieved as head of the House contingent to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, will become the chairman of the House Committee on Accounts, replacing fellow PDP-Laban Rep. Abraham Tolentino.
Ungab and Leachon were among the PDP-Laban leaders and Duterte allies who were sacked from their previous post for allegedly plotting to unseat Cayetano late last year.
The same source disclosed that Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves, who caused a stir by accusing Cayetano of playing favorites in the distribution of congressional district allocations, will take over the chairmanship of the House Committee on Public Works.
Pangasinan Rep. Rose Marie Arenas will be given the Committee on Inter-parliamentary Relations which is currently being held by Rep. Divina Grace Yu of Zamboanga del Sur.
Secretary General Jose Luis Montales will also step down under a Velasco-led chamber. Montales’ replacement will be lawyer Mike Atanante, a legal consultant to Velasco.
Earlier, it was reported that chairpersons of two House panels that were behind the rejection of ABS-CBN network’s bid for legislative franchise will also be unseated.
They are Reps. Franz Alvarez (NUP, Palawan) and Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado (NP, Bulacan), chairman of the House Committees on Legislative Franchise and on Good Government and Public Accountability, respectively.
To take over their places are Reps. Alfred Vargas for Alvarez (PDP-Laban, Quezon City) and Marvie Marino (NPC, Batangas).
Vargas vehemently denied any knowledge of his reported new assignment.