Knowing the ways of Lord

Lord Allan Velasco —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — To his friends, Lord Allan Velasco is a calming presence and a silent worker, but to his enemies, he’s “lazy” and still lacks the gravitas to take the helm of the House of Representatives.

The lone Marinduque representative’s “cool and focused” temperament was on display on Tuesday as he stood on the Speaker’s rostrum after winning a fierce battle against a more politically experienced rival, Alan Peter Cayetano of Taguig.

“Never saw him lose his temper,” said his longtime ally, PBA Rep. Jericho Nograles, a vice chair of the House energy committee chaired by Velasco.

“I know him to be consultative and rational. He does not rush in making decisions until he gets the facts and necessary opinions on the matter at hand,” Nograles told the Inquirer when asked to describe the new Speaker.

At 42, Velasco is the youngest person to lead the post-Edsa House, and the second youngest in the history of the chamber after Sergio Osmeña of Cebu became Speaker in 1907 at 29.

Political household

Like his predecessor, Velasco is a lawyer and comes from a clan of politicians.

He is married to Rowena Velasco, with whom he has five children, one of whom is named after the couple’s good friend, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

His father is former Supreme Court associate justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., who is now Marinduque governor, and his mother is Torrijos Mayor Lorna Quinto-Velasco.

Velasco earned his law degree from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in 2004 and he passed the bar the following year. He got his business management degree from De La Salle University in 1997.

Shy, bright student

“He was really a shy person who seldom stood up in my class to recite or to raise a point,” his law professor at UST, Josephus Jimenez, wrote in his column for the Cebu-based Freeman newspaper on Oct. 7.

“He was a bright student (I gave him good grades), and took the Bar only once, but he was not really the type who is interested to talk. Very rare for a young politician. He would just smile and with his nonverbal communication with his professors and classmates but he never wanted to be the center of attention,” Jimenez said.

Velasco, he said, “just wanted to enjoy his student days, never aspiring for high honors or aiming at some exemplary academic performance.”

Early years in gov’t

Velasco began his career in government in 2006 by heading the judicial staff of his father’s office in the Supreme Court. Then he went back to Marinduque to serve as provincial administrator from 2008 to 2009, according to his official curriculum vitae (CV).

At 31, Velasco ran for representative of Marinduque and won. He lost his reelection bid in 2013 but succeeded in ousting his opponent in an electoral protest over citizenship issues. He took his seat just days before the session adjourned in February 2016. He went on to win the same House seat in the 2016 polls and in 2019.

His record as a lawmaker all those years has not been exemplary, according to his detractors.

In the current 18th Congress, he authored 64 measures, of which six have been enacted into law, though most of them were collaborative bills with several other authors.

He fared better in the previous Congress where he was the principal author of 110 bills, 36 of which were passed into law. They were mostly local measures.

Advocacies

The range of Velasco’s interests is shown in the types of laws he had championed, among them measures reorganizing the judiciary, ensuring uninterrupted power supply nationwide, and institutionalizing a subsidy program for the children of public school teachers.

Sustainable energy has always been one of his chief causes, having led the energy committee since the last Congress.

“As chairperson of energy, he always pushed for cheaper and cleaner energy for the people and industry to operate in a more efficient and reliable manner,” Nograles said.

In conversations, Velasco showed “deep understanding of complex issues behind his humble and unassuming personality,” according to Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who defected to the Velasco camp on Monday.

‘Absentee congressman’

He said Velasco would bring “youth, energy and dynamic curiosity” to the House leadership. The Speaker’s hobbies are scuba diving and motorcycles, according to his CV.

But his foes are not convinced Velasco has the mettle to lead the House.

Former Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. described Velasco in September amid the speakership squabble as “an absentee congressman” and “lazy.”

He also criticized Velasco’s silence on a number of issues that involved the House, from the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to the rejection of ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise.

“Where was he on all major issues surrounding the House?” the Camarines Sur lawmaker said. “A Speaker should have a strong voice. A Speaker should have a principled stand on major issues,” Villafuerte said.

Velasco was not a member of the franchise committee when ABS-CBN’s fate was decided by the panel, which voted 70-11 on July 10 to reject the broadcast giant’s application for a new license. He did not speak publicly about his opinion on the franchise or the antiterrorism bill.

For Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon, Velasco’s calm and soft-spoken nature ultimately helped his cause in the battle of wits against Cayetano.

“He did not give in to emotional outbursts and impulsive decisions but rather stayed cool and focused. He consulted with his peers and listened to advice. Most of all, he remained firm but not confrontational,” he said.