ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Speaker Cayetano can resign every day, but will be reinstalled every day -- solon

Speaker Cayetano can resign every day, but will be reinstalled every day -- solon

Published Oct 2, 2020 12:34 pm

An ally of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano flaunted on Friday the  number possessed by the incumbent leadership over that of the Speaker's rival, Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Alan Velasco.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

Capiz 2nd district Rep. Fredenil Castro stood up in the middle of the plenary budget deliberations in order to address a supposed challenge from Velasco's camp to Cayetano.

The challenge was for the House to once again carry out a vote for the Speakership on October 14, the agreed-upon date for the turnover of the position from Cayetano to Velasco.  Cayetano had earlier made an offer to resign during the plenary session on Wednesday, only for 184 House members to reject it.

The Velasco camp has reportedly described Wednesday's events as "scripted."

"Wala nga kayong (Velasco) numero noong di pa maliwanag ang posisyon at paninindigan ng Pangulo (sa Speakership), ngayon pa kaya na malinaw pa sa sikat ng araw ang kanyang pahayag na masaya siya at tapos na ang kaguluhan sa liderato ng Kongreso? (You didn't have the numbers when the President was still undecided on the speakership, what more now that he is clearly happy over the resolution of the leadership issue in the House?)" Castro said in his privilege speech.

"Marunong naman siguro tayong lahat magbilang at sa lagay na ito, kahit araw-arawin ni Speaker Cayetano na magbitiw, araw-araw din siyang ibabalik ng mas nakakaraming mga kasapi ng Mababang Kapulungan (We probably all know how to count, and in this juncture, even if Speaker Cayetano resigns every day, he will likewise be reinstalled by the majority of the members of the Lower Chamber)," said the former Majority Leader.

"Kaya ang tanong ngayon, sino na ang tunay na ambisyoso? (So now, the question is, who is truly the ambitious one?)," added the Capiz lawmaker.

President Duterte last year brokered the term-sharing agreement between his two allies Cayetano and Velasco for the coveted speakership. As per the deal, Cayetano will be the Speaker for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress while Velasco will serve the succeeding 21 months.

But Castro insinuated that the Marinduque solon "simply wants to get the position without earning the right to get it."

"Let me ask you my dear colleagues and the Filipino people -- who is more honorable? The one who stood with us and led us during one of the most troubled, critical, and difficult times in our nation's history? Or someone who was nowhere to be seen when we were all working and struggling with our countrymen to help the country recover?" Castro said, alluding to the attack of Velasco that Cayetano didn't have a word of honor.

"Para sa kanila, sapat na na madikit sila sa Pangulo at gawin itong panakot na nakapanginginig upang ang lahat ay matakot sa kanila (For them, it was enough to get close to the President and use this for chilling effect so that everybody would fear them)," he added.

The House of Representatives currently has 299 members.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.