House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday said Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco was behind the ouster move against him.
But Velasco said Cayetano’s allegation is baseless.
In an interview, Cayetano said Velasco is now moving to oust him amid the controversy stirred by the ABS-CBN franchise renewal and national budget issues.
According to Cayetano, he received information from 20 lawmakers that Velasco is promising chairmanship and budget allocation to them under his leadership.
“[He is] offering funds and chairmanships under [Velasco’s leadership], and even speaking to some lawmakers himself,” he said.
“It is normal to deny it when you get caught. But unless 20 congressmen are lying to me that they were promised chairmanships and told that ‘next year is my budget, I would dictate to whom it goes’ etc. And I don’t think these 20 congressmen would really spark intrigue,” he added.
Cayetano also said he will honor the term-sharing agreement between him and Velasco.
“I’ve always said when it comes to the leadership issue, we would follow the President. So he has nothing to worry about,” Cayetano said.
Under the term-sharing arrangement, Cayetano would lead the House for 15 months up to October this year. Velasco would serve the remaining 21 months of the speaker’s three-year term of office.
“But we will deal with it decisively. My advice to chairperson: If you want to work with me, don’t make it personal, even if you don’t like me, let’s do it. But if you want to sabotage me, then leave your position and return under the leadership of Congressman Velasco,” Cayetano added.
For his part, Velasco said Cayetano’s information are “far from the truth.”
“I am issuing this statement to, once and for all, end baseless reports attributed to unnamed sources and sly innuendos being peddled by certain camps with vested interests within and outside the halls of Congress on the supposed ‘coup plan’ to change the leadership of the House of Representatives,” he said.
“The reports were meant to create deep division within the House of Representatives and its members, destroy camaraderie, distract lawmakers from fulfilling their mandate and, more importantly, derail the key legislative agenda of the Duterte administration,” he added.
According to Velasco, he will continue to honor the term-sharing agreement brokered by no less than President Duterte when the 18th Congress convened in July 2019.
“From the beginning, I never had any intention of reneging on this agreement. Tayo po ay lalaking may isang salita,” he said.
“To my colleagues in Congress, let’s continue to do our mandate to serve our constituency and provide services to people who elected us into office. Our people deserve to enjoy the fruits of progress under President Duterte,” Velasco added.