Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano will be bringing his most trusted allies from the House of Representatives to back him up during his scheduled face-off with Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Allan Velasco in Malacañang on Tuesday evening.
Among those who will accompany Cayetano to the 6 p.m. meeting are Majority Leader and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) president Rep. Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta of SAGIP Party-List, National Unity Party (NUP) President Rep. Elpidio Barzaga of Cavite, Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Mikey Arroyo of Pampanga, and Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability chairman, Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, a reliable source said.
"The House leaders are bound to amplify the achievements and excellent performance of the House under the Cayetano leadership, but it appears they will also raise the subject of the manifesto," bared the same source.
Over the weekend, at least 202 congressmen signed a manifesto signifying their desire to have Cayetano remain as Speaker until the end of the 18th Congress. The number is more than two-thirds of the current House membership, a clear majority.
Cayetano and Velasco have a term-sharing agreement for the Speakership. Under this unprecedented scheme, which President Duterte himself brokered last year, Cayetano will serve as Speaker for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress, while Velasco will hold the post for the remaining 21 months.
The turnover for the Speakership will occur either this October (as per Velasco's camp) or November (Cayetano's camp).
However, the surfacing of the manifesto, coupled with the solons' calls for the young Marinduque lawmaker to honorably step aside for the more seasoned Cayetano amid the challenges brought by the pandemic, has raised serious questions about the practicality of the term-split.
The same source said Velasco only managed to set up the last-ditch meeting with Duterte thanks to the intervention of a "close relative" who went to the Palace last week.
But the Chief Executive, Velasco's own party-mate at Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), found it proper to invite the current Speaker too in order to settle matters once and for all.
Cayetano has not publicly commented on the manifesto, which some senior PDP-Laban officials also signed.