Villafuerte: No talks of revamp of House leaders at the moment

MANILA, Philippines — There are no talks yet about a revamp of the leaders in the House of Representatives as the chamber has focused itself more on the deliberations on the 2021 national budget, Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte said Monday.

He made the remark after several House leaders belonging to different political parties expressed their “continued full and equivocal support for Speaker (Alan Peter) Cayetano and the entire leadership of the House” in a manifesto.

“With regards to the question of whether there will be a revamp with respect to house leaders who did not sign the manifesto, no revamp or changes being talked about now because our attention and focus is to pass the 2021 budget on or before Oct 15 , 2020,” Villafuerte said in a statement.

Changes, if any, will be based on consultation and consensus with the House leadership “with the primordial objective of improving the performance of the House especially in delivering and passing legislative measures,” he added.

Villafuerte is among those who signed the manifesto. Other signatories include the leaders of the majority and minority blocs of the chamber, heads of political parties and several deputy speakers.

“With the supermajority signifying their desire for Speaker Alan to continue to lead the House of Representatives, it’s crystal clear that members have complete trust and faith in Speaker Alan to continue due to his proven performance and tested leadership,” Villafuerte said

Under a term-sharing agreement brokered by the President himself, Cayetano is supposed to hold the speakership for 15 months and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco would take over for the remaining 21 months of the 18th Congress.[ac]