Cayetano was ousted even before resigning — Romero

MANILA, Philippines — For 1-PACMAN Partylist Rep. Michael Romero, former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano was ousted by the majority of House members even before he resigned on Tuesday.

Romero said Cayetano was ousted as early as October 12 when the Speaker’s post was declared vacant and 186 lawmakers voted to elect Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco at the helm of the lower chamber.

“October 12 at 12 noon, 186 congressmen ousted Alan Peter Cayetano as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Same day, October 12, we elected—all 186 of us comprising the majority—all voted and elected Speaker Lord Allan Velasco as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives,” Romero said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday.

“The next day, October 13, Alan Peter Cayetano resigned, so I don’t think he resigned for what purpose because he was already ousted a day before. I’m just being factual,” he added.

Romero was the first casualty of the speakership row when he was stripped of his deputy speaker post back when Cayetano was still House Speaker.

The partylist lawmaker was a known ally of Velasco and even accompanied the latter during the meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and Cayetano to settle the speakership issue on September 29.

Velasco’s camp finally pulled the trigger when it held a session at the Celebrity Sports Club in Quezon City on October 12 and elected the Marinduque lawmaker.

The legality of this move, however, was questioned by Cayetano who called the session held outside House premises a sham.

On October 13, hours before the resumption of the budget deliberations for the proposed 2021 budget, 186 lawmakers also voted to ratify Velasco’s speakership election to remove doubts over its legality.

Just minutes after Velasco’s speakership election was ratified, Cayetano took to Facebook live and announced his “irrevocable resignation”, thus presumably ending the speakership issue.

In July 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that a term-sharing agreement would take place between Velasco and Cayetano.

Under the agreement, Cayetano would serve as Speaker in the first 15 months of the 18th Congress before he would be succeeded by Velasco who would serve for the next 21 months.

EDV