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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Solon cites 'nuances' in Cayetano 'resignation' as House chief

Solon cites 'nuances' in Cayetano 'resignation' as House chief

Published Oct 1, 2020 01:14 pm

Some are questioning why Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano can still call himself Speaker after "resigning" Wednesday afternoon during plenary session.

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)

Offering his insight, Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said that there were certain "nuances" with Cayetano's action.

"Sa aming rules mayroon naman talagang probisyon doon patungkol sa pagre-resign as a member, kung mag-resign ka sa iyong posisyon. But ang nangyari kahapon, may nuancing kasi doon (There is a provision in our rules regarding the resignation of a member, if he or she would resign from a position. But there's nuancing to what happened yesterday)," Zarate, a lawyer, said during the Makabayan Bloc's virtual press conference Thursday.

"It was an offer (of resignation), so there was no tender. It can be subjected to different interpretations. Hindi siya (It wasn't a) categorical 'I already resigned, I tendered my resignation.' Isang interpretasyon iyon (That's one interpretation)," he noted.

To recall, Cayetano's exact words Wednesday were, "I'm offering my resignation (as Speaker) here and now. "

Almost immediately, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor manifested that he rejects such offer and made a motion to that effect. The offer to resign was subsequently rejected by the plenary twice, once via a simple voice vote (ayes and nays) and then through nominal or individual voting where 184 House members rejected the offer.

Another motion, this time to suspend Thursday's budget deliberation, was made on the floor and subsequently carried.

"It appears na sa panahon na iyon, 184 sila nagsabi na hindi nila papayagan yun (at that time, 184 of the members said they won't allow the resignation). The offer was not accepted," Zarate said.

The six-member Makabayan Bloc were among the nine solons who abstained during the nominal voting. According to Zarate, the House Minoroty Bloc, where the Makabayan solons belong to, are just bystanders or observers to the infighting of the majority coalition.

"Ang aming concern dito, dahil sa kanilang tuloy-tuloy na bangayan ay nasasagasaan ang pagtalakay at pagbusisisi sa napa-importanteng piece of legislation na kailangang maipasa namin, itong budget for 2021 (Our concern here is that their infighting is trampling on our deliberation and perusal of the 2021 budget -- a very important piece of legislation that we must pass)," he said.

Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles shared this sentiment. "We lost a day and a half in budget deliberations in the time of COVID," he told ANC Headstart Thursday.

"First of all, there is nothing in our rules that calls for an offer of resignation. According to our rules, any officer of the House may resign. It is their personal choice. It is not up to the body and not up to the Congress and to the plenary to decide on the action of any officer," he said.

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