Although President Duterte would prefer that House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco honor their term-sharing agreement he himself brokered last year, the decision should ultimately be left to congressmen.
“He wishes that the two leaders will honor their words. However, if Representative Velasco does not have the numbers, then the President cannot do anything about it,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Monday.
In a meeting with House and Senate leaders in Malacañang on Sept. 16, the President made an enigmatic comment, “Kawawa naman si Lord (Pitiful Lord),” which drew varying interpretations from the two camps.
Mr. Duterte had also said then that he could not do anything if Velasco would not be able to muster enough support from congressmen, although he was again expected to play mediator or kingmaker when he meets with them both at Malacañang on Tuesday.
The Inquirer has learned that the meeting would take place at 6 p.m.
Roque, however, could not confirm when this would take place but said the President had “private meetings” scheduled for this week.
The meeting could make or break Velasco’s prospects in the face of an avalanche of support for Cayetano to remain as Speaker of the 300-member chamber during a crucial period spanning the passage of the 2021 budget and amid the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the weekend, upon the prodding of Cayetano’s camp, various manifestos, including one signed by 202 members, were released by different political blocs backing his retention while urging his rival to back down.
Under the terms of their “gentleman’s agreement,” Cayetano is supposed to serve as Speaker for the first 15 months and Velasco takes over for the remaining 21 months of the 18th Congress.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Velasco appealed to Cayetano to honor their “covenant” and showed pictures of the two of them signing the pledge, along with the President and House majority leader Martin Romualdez.
“The covenant was crystal clear: a 15-21 term-sharing agreement. The first term expires on Sept. 30, after which the second term immediately begins,” he said.
“That was the pledge made before the President. As true leaders and as examples for our people, both sides are obligated to avoid situations or statements that would subvert the agreement and betray the trust of our people who’ve stood witness to the covenant,” he added.