Senate leaders weighed in on the change in the leadership of the House of Representatives.
Members of the House of Representatives ratified their election of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco as the new House Speaker, ousting Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III believes that with this move, the lower chamber could finally focus on approving the P4.5-trillion proposed 2021 budget.
"All the HOR has to do is approve the budget on third reading then print and submit to us, regardless of who the Speaker is," said Sotto, apparently maintaining his position not to meddle in the power struggle in their counterpart chamber.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, meanwhile, thanked Cayetano for his service as House Speaker, saying: "Alan's stint was short but spectacular."
"His stint as House leader may be short, but it was spectacular. He passed all the bills the Palace requested, plus those which are products of the House’s policy ingenuity, which he harnessed in full," Recto, Cayetano's partymate in the Nacionalista Party, said in his statement.
He also praised Cayetano's service as Foreign Affairs secretary, recalling "have referred many OFWs in distress and he (Cayetano) made it a point to personally attend to all of them."
Recto said: "This is just a pit stop in Alan’s long career. He will be back—I doubt if he’ll ever leave the political scene as a leading voice. It will be ages before we will come to read the requiem for this heavyweight. Not today."
"While he had changed chambers, he was constantly in touch with his old colleagues in the Smaller but Smarter House. He is always welcome here, and the polls show that it will be a walk in the park for him," he continued.
"I am writing this to thank him for his service to the nation as House leader. Old school it may sound, but in this age when the new is hailed and the old is forgotten, I believe that the courtesy of appreciating the good a person had done should continue as an honored tradition," he added.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, congratulated Velasco's partymates and "friends" in the Senate following the congressman's election as House Speaker.
"As the saying now goes, because I was watching the news right now, there's a new speaker: 'The Lord be with us'," he jested during the Senate subcommittee's hearing of the Department of Energy's proposed 2021 budget Monday.
"'The Lord be with us'. May bago nang speaker sa Kongreso (We have a new House Speaker in Congress)," he repeated, alluding to Velasco's first name.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also welcomed the election of Velasco.
"Kaibigan namin 'yan ni (He is a friend to us, to) Secretary Cusi at ni chairperson Devanadera. He was our counterpart in the Lower House, in the Committee on Energy," Gatchalian said, Senate energy committee chair.
Gatchalian, like Sotto, is also a member of the Nationalist Peoples' Coalition (NPC), which reportedly supported Velasco's bid for speakership.
Cusi, on the other hand, is the vice chairman of the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), Velasco's political party, as well as Duterte's.
"Double bonus kay Sec. Cusi: Approved na 'yong budget, 'yong Speaker pa ay kaibigan ninyo (It's a double bonus for Sec. Cusi: The DOE budget is approved, and the new Speaker is your friend). So congratulations," Zubiri said.
Meanwhile, opposition Sen. Leila de Lima hit Malacañang’s "may the best man win” remark on House speakership row. De Lima earlier slammed Duterte's involvement in the term-sharing agreement between Cayetano and Velasco, who are both his allies.
"May the best man win? What a desperate attempt to frame this power struggle as something that's just between two squabbling spoiled brats, completely devoid of Duterte's influence. Mukhang kailangan na nilang magpalit ng scriptwriter (Looks like they need a new scriptwriter)," she said.