Speaker-in-waiting Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco has accused Speaker Alan Cayetano of holding on to his position to secure allocations for his district and for his supporters at the House of Representatives.
In a video posted on his Facebook page late Friday evening, Velasco lamented the “unfair allocation of funds” in the proposed P4.5 trillion budget for 2021.
“Ang mga tanong po kay Speaker Cayetano at sa kaniyang barkada: Budget ba ito para sa bayan o budget ng mga barkada mo? Makabuluhang budget ba ito sa gitna ng pandemya o malaking budget ba ito para sa grupo mo (The question for Speaker Cayetano and his clique: Is this a budget for the nation or a budget for your friends? Is this a significant budget in the middle of a pandemic or simply a hefty budget for your group?),” Velasco said.
“Is this why Speaker Cayetano and his sidekicks are adamant in fiercely fighting the peaceful transition of House leadership? Is this why Speaker Cayetano is trying to blackmail President Duterte and hold the budget hostage if his term is not extended?” he added.
Questions over the allocation of the public works budget next year—specifically over Taguig and Camarines Sur getting the lion’s share—have triggered the speakership row, with Cayetano accusing Velasco’s camp of trying to derail the passage of the General Appropriations Act.
Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. questioned why Taguig and Camarines Sur were getting the largest slices of the public works budget.
But ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, said Taguig City, whose two congressional districts are represented by Cayetano and his wife Lanie, was given P11 billion in public works budget for 2021 because it houses Fort Bonifacio, the Army’s headquarters, where several big projects will be implemented.
Velasco, in his video message, appealed to Cayetano to finish the deliberations on the proposed budget and resign as speaker on Oct. 14.
“Speaker Cayetano, you gave your word in front of the President to honor the term-sharing agreement. Please, I appeal to you, finish the budget and resign on October 14,” he said.
“In the coming days and weeks and months, let us show the public that we, as your representatives, are still decent, honorable, and trustworthy leaders whose only agenda is to serve the people,” he added.
Velasco claimed Cayateno promised President Rodrigo Duterte that he will step down on Oct. 14—the self-imposed date of the House leadership to pass the 2021 budget bill—as part of the gentleman’s agreement brokered by the chief executive himself.
“When we met with the President early this week, it was made clear, and I agree, that there should no disruption in the passage of the budget and the House can pass the government’s expenditure plan in a timely manner on or before Oct. 14,” Velasco said.
“But to hang on the speakership and extend his term until December on the pretext of budget deliberations only raises suspicion,” he added.
On Friday, a key ally of Velasco was removed from the position of deputy speaker as Cayetano’s allies called for the mass resignation of the lawmakers who are not supportive of the incumbent House leadership.
Camiguin Rep. Jesus Xavier Romualdo filed a motion to remove party-list Rep. Michael Romero, president of the Partylist Coalition Foundation, Inc., from the roster of deputy speakers.
Romero’s removal was seen by many party-list lawmakers as an affront to the PLCI, which is composed of 52 legislators.
Castro, who replaced Romero, called on his fellow lawmakers to quit their posts and “step aside” if they are not willing to cooperate with the majority of members who have expressed their intent to keep Cayetano as speaker.