Cayetano to Velasco: ‘I will not let you burn this House down’

MANILA, Philippines — “I will not let you burn this House down,” incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday told Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, whom he also accused of only thinking about taking power in the lower legislative body.

“I will not allow you to burn this House down. Remember that. I love this institution, 1998 nandito na ako. Marami na akong Goliath na kinalaban (I have fought many Goliaths already),” he also said in a press conference.

“So kung gagawin niyo, ipapasa budget, magkakampi tayo dito. Kung ang gagawin niyo papalitan lang ako, ‘di ako hahadlang, pero if you try to burn this House down, you’re in for one hell of a fight,” he added.

(If you want to pass the budget, I am one with you. If you want to replace me, I will not be against that, but if you want to burn this House down, you’re in for one hell of a fight.)

The Taguig-Pateros representative held his press conference while 186 congressmen or majority of the House members elected Velasco as new Speaker in a session that Cayetano and his allies described as “fake” and “illegal.”

It can be recalled that under a gentlemen’s agreement brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, Cayetano should only serve as Speaker in the first 15 months of the 18th Congress, until October this year, while Velasco should succeed him and serve as Speaker for the remaining 21 months.

But Cayetano said Duterte had earlier told him to oversee the completion of the national budget up until it is approved this December.

“I was told very, very early that because of COVID-19, talagang ‘di masusunod ‘yung October at tapusin ko muna ng December. Ang problema nga, ‘yung isa (Velasco), matigas ulo. Ang iniisip lang power, ang iniisip lang makaupo. So hindi iniisip ang institution, hindi iniisip ‘yung image ng ating bansa, hindi iniisip ano lalabas sa news ngayon,” Cayetano said.

(I was told very, very early that because of COVID-19, the October agreement cannot really push through and that I must first finish the budget by December. But the problem is, the other one, he’s hard-headed. He is only thinking about power, to take the House leadership. So, he is not thinking about the institution, he’s not taking into consideration the image of our country, he’s not thinking about what will come out in the news now.)

“Ang iniintay ng mga kababayan natin lumabas sa news ngayon, ano bang laman ng budget? May ayuda ba ‘yan, may tulong ba sa health?…So I hope we can go back to talking about these things rather than talking about the [House] leadership. I am here for one thing. To finish this [budget],” he added.

(What the Filipinos want to know is what is inside the budget. Is there enough funding for assistance, for health? So I hope we can go back to talking about these things rather than talking about the [House] leadership. I am here for one thing. To finish this [budget].)

KGA