Duterte to meet Cayetano, Velasco in Malacañang
MANILA, Philippines — As the speakership showdown continues to heat up, President Rodrigo Duterte called speakership rivals Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord Allan Velasco to a meeting in Malacañang Tuesday.
“This is to confirm that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has called Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano and Rep. Lord Allan Velasco for a meeting at 12:30pm in Malago today regarding the passage of the 2021 budget,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.
The meeting comes even as the President said he was already fed up with politics in Congress’ lower chamber and appealed to prioritize passing the proposed 2021 national budget first.
Duterte even called Congress to a special session starting Tuesday until Friday, October 16 to avoid delays in passing the budget.
On Monday, Velasco was elected by 186 lawmakers in a session held at an events place in Quezon City. But Cayetano refused to acknowledge this, saying he has the support of 200 congressmen.
The President had previously brokered a term-sharing deal between Cayetano and Velasco for the House speakership, with the former serving for 15 months or up to October and the latter serving for the remaining 21 months.
