Incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and newly-installed Speaker Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco (INQUIRER.NET file photos)
MANILA, Philippines — The people will not benefit from the ongoing power struggle at the House of Representatives whoever emerges victorious against the other, several activists said on Monday.
“All those wanting to retain/change the House Speaker say they are doing it FOR the people. But none have actually advocated a higher budget for health, education, aid for the poor much less slashing the pork barrel for politicians. They say it’s for all of us but it’s really for them,” Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said in a statement.
[Last sentence in the original Filipino: “Para daw sa atin pero para talaga sa kanila.”]
“The people gain nothing from the political circus. The people gain nothing from the system of bureaucrat capitalism and patronage politics which is presided over by the President himself,” he added.
For Reyes, whoever emerges victorious in the speakership war should allot attention to pressing issues facing Filipinos.
“The people’s demands are clear,” he said. “We need more funds for health and pandemic response, especially at the level of public hospitals. We need more funds for education as we grapple with the challenges of distance learning. We need more aid for those displaced by the pandemic.”
“None of these issues are being tackled by the different factions involved in the power struggle. It is another disappointing day for ordinary Filipinos who are forced to watch the in-fighting among Duterte allies,” he noted.
Each of the two personalities locked in the struggle — newly-elected Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano — insist that his being the speaker post would be for the good of people.
Cayetano has urged the Velasco to allow him to extend his hold on the post under their term-sharing agreement — a deal brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte — to ensure the passage of the proposed 2021 national budget.
On the other hand, Velasco believes that his taking over would end the deadlock on the budget deliberations — which would eventually benefit the people.
In 2019, President Duterte brokered a deal under which Cayetano would be the speaker for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress and Velasco would serve the remaining 21 months
Budget deliberations first
According to Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago, Congress should focus on deliberating on the proposed 2021 national budget instead of personal issues and aspirations — that the budget should not be collateral damage in the struggle.
“We reiterate our demand for the urgent resumption of the budget deliberations. There are still so many agencies whose proposed budgets have not been scrutinized. There are also agencies who budgets we have deferred [approving] because of anomalous use and allotment of the funds of the country,” Elago said, partly in Filipino, in a statement,
Two of the agencies she mentioned were the Department of National Defense and the National Task Force to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict.
“The people also have many needs that need to included in the funding of the government. Our position remains that the national budget must not be collateral damage in the speakership row,” she added.
Elago, who is part of the House’s Makabayan bloc, sought to defer the budget of several agencies allegedly involved in the red-tagging of activists, including members of the bloc.
Last September, the budget of the Presidential Communications Operations Office was stalled because ACT party-list Rep. France Castro questioned Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy’s move to red-tag Makabayan lawmakers.
“Because of the chaotic struggle for power, the complaints and calls of the people for health, education, employment, and aid have been run over,” Elago said.
[Original statement in Filipino: “Nasagasaan na ang mga hinaing at panawagan ng sambayanan para sa kalusugan, edukasyon, trabaho at ayuda nang dahil sa magulong labanan sa kapangyarihan.”]
“Strengthening the public health care system, expanding social protection, and building the national economy must be substantially funded for an effective and inclusive pandemic response and recovery. We must demand a pro-people and pandemic responsive national budget,” she added.
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