Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The events that unfolded in the House of Representatives during Tuesday’s session—such as the “premature” approval on second reading of the proposed 2021 budget—was “another chapter of the Cayetano telenovela,” Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said Wednesday.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Atienza slammed Cayetano’s “antics,” saying that Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano violated the basic rules of the House as well as the Constitutional provisions on the passage of the budget of the country.
“‘Yung kanyang ginawa kahapon [The thing he did yesterday], another chapter of the Cayetano telenovela, related to all these past weeks yung kanyang mga antics. He walks into the halls of Congress like the Piper of Taguig followed by his minions, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, LRay Villafuerte, Dan Fernandez,” Atienza said.
“Mayroon siyang barkada e [He has his friends]. I call them now the ‘Gangs of Congress’ because every time they walk in, pwede ka na kabahan, mayroon na naman itong gagawing kalokohan dito [you can be nervous, they may do another foolishness here],” the lawmaker added.
Atienza said that Cayetano began his speech on Tuesday assuring the nation that he is not going to talk about his speakership war with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco and only focus on the national budget.
But it did not take long enough before Cayetano lambasted Velasco, said Atienza.
“Excuse me, after saying that, he starts lambasting Velasco, he started removing chairmen of different committees, and he immediately went in to approving the budget prematurely and citing a rule which he did not follow again,” Atienza said.
During Tuesday’s session, Cayetano moved to terminate the period of debates and amendments to House Bill No. 7727 or the 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
With the period of debates and amendments closed, a motion was made to approve the proposed 2021 budget on second reading. The motion was seconded and approved.
Atienza, however, argued that Cayetano’s motion was not debated on.
“Nagkaroon ba ng paliwanag yang mga in favor of the termination? Wala. Nagkaroon ba ng pagpapaliwanag yang against the termination? We could not have because we were muted right away,” Atienza, who attended the session through videoconferencing, said.
(Those who were in favor, did they say any explanation for the termination? None. Was there any explanation from those against the termination?)
“Hindi kami naririnig sa hall e. Ang naririnig lang niya, yung kanyang gustong pakinggan so he violated rule number 1 and that is fairness and following the basic rule of the House,” he added.
(We are not being heard at the hall. All of those he was hearing were the people he wanted to hear so he violated the rule number one and that is fairness and following the basic rule of the House.)
A “one-man rule” in Congress is not allowed since they are under a democracy, said Atienza.
In photos shared to the media following Tuesday’s session, Atienza can be seen holding a piece of paper with the words “I object” in an apparent bid to register his voice during the House plenary session. He participated in the session via video conferencing.
The photo also shows the screen with a flashed message: “The host is not allowing participants to unmute themselves.”