Sotto, Velasco to ‘meet soon’ to discuss legislative matters

Newly-installed House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Senate President Vicente Sotto. INQUIRER and SENATE PRIB FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said he and newly-installed House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco will “meet soon” to tackle legislative matters.

In a message to reporters, Sotto said Velasco reached out to him Tuesday night.

“He got in touch last night. No protocol necessary but we agreed to meet soon to discuss legislative matters,” the Senate president said.

Asked when the meeting will take place, Sotto said: “After Friday (Oct. 16) when he promised to pass [the] budget on third reading as he told me.”

Sotto also said that he congratulated the new Speaker and wished him good luck.

Further, Sotto expressed hopes that they, too, would have a  good working relationship, noting that the Senate had “good relationships with the past leadership.”

On Tuesday, Velasco was officially installed as the new Speaker of the House, ending a power struggle in the lower chamber that even jeopardized the timely passage of the 2021 national budget.

EDV