By Ellson Quismorio  Don't expect Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur second district Rep. LRay Villafuerte to just shut his mouth as far as the war of words between Team Cayetano and Team Velasco regarding the House Speakership is concerned. Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte (FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) "Why should I shut up?" Villafuerte said in a statement Sunday afternoon, just hours after Oriental Mindoro first district Rep. Doy Leachon told him to do so in a separate statement sent to House reporters as the latter gave a testimonial of sorts on Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Allan Velasco's integrity and competence. Villafuerte said there was no point for him to shut up "given that he is only telling the truth and amplifying what Speaker Alan Cayetano had exposed, which was last month's botched House coup attempt by Rep. Velasco and his group." The ouster try allegedly involved Velasco offering juicy committee chairmanships and additional budget to at least 20 congressmen, in exchange for support of his early takeover of the Speakership. It can be recalled that that current Speaker Cayetano and Velasco have a gentleman's agreement wherein the Marinduque lawmaker would assume the House's top post around October 2020. "Such offers by Rep. Velasco to our colleagues were earlier exposed by Speaker Alan Cayetano himself, which means Rep. Leachon is calling the Speaker a liar--in which case he should be man enough to tell that to the Speaker's face instead of training his sights on me. I stand by my position that Rep. Velasco lacks the gravitas, track record and legislative experience to take over as Speaker--his resume certainly pales in comparison to that of the incumbent Speaker," he said in his rather spiteful statement. Villafuerte has been one of Cayetano's most trusted lieutenants in the ongoing 18th Congress, which, for the most part, has gone smoothly after President Duterte brokered the term-sharing deal between his two House allies. But if Villafuerte is to be believed, then attacks and clashes between supporters of the two factions have been steadily boiling under the surface. "For the past three months now, Rep. Velasco's henchmen like Rep. Leachon have been saying bad and false things about me behind my back," he bared. "Three months na nila ako sinisiraan (They've been smearing my reputation for three months now) because Rep. Velasco is not man enough to say things directly to the Speaker; that's why his group has found it more convenient to resort to ad hominem attacks against me just for being fully supportive of Rep. Cayetano and his commitment to President Duterte's legislative agenda," he said.