Velasco camp to declare Speaker’s seat vacant if Cayetano won’t budge, says solon

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco will declare the post of the House Speaker vacant if Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano will not resign on October 14, AAMBIS-OWA party-list Rep. Sharon Garin  said Friday.

“They will pursue the 15-21 agreement and then declare the position vacant and then we will see how each and every congressman will decide. Will they follow what the President suggested or not and that will determine the fate of Congress in the next few years,” Garin said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

“Kung gusto ng many of the congressmen (If it’s what many congressmen want), if the majority wants to go against the advice of the President, then so be it, di ba? That’s how we decide, it’s a collegial body. But that will be decided by the majority,” she added.

Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor earlier advised colleagues who want a change in House leadership to declare the post of Cayetano vacant and see who gets the vote for Speaker.

Velasco is set to take over as speaker of the House of Representatives on October 14, following a meeting between him, Cayetano and their supporters with President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday to settle the speakership dispute.

Garin was present in the meeting in support of Velasco.

She said the instructions of Duterte during the meeting were clear: pass the 2021 budget on time and follow the 15-21 term sharing agreement.

In 2019, Duterte brokered the 15-21 term sharing deal between Cayetano and Velasco, where Cayetano would serve as House Speaker in the first 15 months of the 18th Congress while Velasco would serve for the remaining 21 months.

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