PBA party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles on Sunday said the rules of Congress were violated when 1-PACMAN party-list Rep. Mikee Romero was removed as deputy speaker and was replaced with Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro.
“We have rules at the House of Representatives, and it was obvious that the rules were not complied with,” Nograles said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV. “The rules of the House of Representatives were violated with the substitution of Fred Castro vice Mikee Romero.”
On Oct. 2, Deputy Majority Leader XJ Romualdo moved to unseat Romero during the plenary deliberations for the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021.
Romero was among those who accompanied Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco to a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang to settle a row with Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who seemed reluctant to honor his term-sharing agreement with Velasco.
Nograles said there could only be a vacancy in a seat when any of the officers dies, resigns, or is permanently incapacitated under Section 13 of the House rules.
Under Section 11 of the same rules, an election should be held in case there is vacancy in a seat at the House of Representatives, he added.
Meanwhile, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez asserted that the term-sharing agreement between Cayetano and Velasco has already been carried out after Cayetano offered to resign.
In an interview over Dobol B sa News TV, Fernandez, said Congress was caught unawares by Cayetano’s move amid Velasco’s claim that Cayetano’s term-sharing period would lapse on Sept. 30.
“Congressman Velasco and his group were not prepared that this would be the move of Speaker Cayetano. Who are we to question his objective, meaning to say it is the prerogative of the speaker to resign in whatever capacity that he wanted?" he said.
He said it did not matter if Cayetano resigned on Sept. 30 or Oct. 14 – in either case, that would live up to his 15-month term under the term-sharing agreement with Velasco.
A majority of lawmakers that day, however, rejected Cayetano's offer to resign.
“Since he was able to establish a good working relationship with all the members of the House of Representatives, of course, you have to consider their sentiments. It would be discourteous to resign without telling, explaining and without taking your resignation before the floor,” Fernandez said.
"With his resignation, the speaker showed he is respecting the President and the entire membership of the House of Representatives,” he cited.
Some 184 lawmakers rejected Cayetano's offer for resignation in a nominal voting conducted after Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor's motion.
Fernandez hit Velasco for accusing Cayetano of trying to stay longer in his position to secure his and his "comrades'" share of the 2021 national budget .
He urged House leaders not supporting the continued tenure of Cayetano to step down from their posts.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Sunday said they would nott interfere in the speakership row in the House of Representatives as long as they pass the 2021 national budget during the first week of October.
“If they delay it, they should not blame us later on. Like when they had a change of leadership and then they blamed us, that shouldn’t be,” said Sotto, referring to the 2018 ouster of then Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and his replacement by former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo.
In an interview over DZBB, Sotto also noted there were term-sharing agreements in the Senate, but no chaos.
Senator Christopher Go on Sunday also called on his fellow legislators to ensure the timely passage of the 2021 budget despite issues surrounding the House speakership.
He underscored the need for both houses of Congress to ensure the budget will be passed, especially amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A political analyst, Ramon Casiple, on the other hand, said a term-sharing deal was unconstitutional and that Cayetano should keep his post.
Lawmakers of the House elect the speaker under the chamber's rules, and there is no such thing as “gentlemen’s agreement," he said.