It’s official: Lord Allan Jay Velasco is the new House Speaker

A total of 186 lawmakers voted Tuesday to ratify the election of Lord Allan Jay Velasco as the new House Speaker during the plenary proceedings.

Velasco and his allies held the proceedings at the Batasang Pambansa’s plenary hall after conducting a “session” and electing Velasco yesterday at the Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City.

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The ratification took place less than an hour before Velasco and ousted Alan Peter Cayetano’s meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte at 12:30 pm in Malacanang.

In his acceptance speech, Speaker Lord Allan Jay Velasco blamed Cayetano for the “unnecessary turmoil” in the Congress when the latter refused to honor their term-sharing deal brokered by Duterte.

“The interest of our people, especially at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic and the concomitant crisis it has brought, is being sacrificed at the altar of personal greed and political ambition,” Velasco said.

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“Our people cannot wait, and they do not deserve to wait even more because someone’s political plans are now in peril,” the new Speaker added.

Meanwhile, Cayetano filed his “irrevocable resignation” as House speaker through a Facebook Live video just minutes after Lord Allan Jay Velasco was proclaimed as the new House Speaker.

Yesterday, said he is open to offering a deputy speaker position to .

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Lord Allan Jay Velasco is the new House Speaker

Velasco, who was “elected” by his allies in a “session” held at the Celebrity Sports Club in Quezon City, said he would offer a position to Cayetano that “depends on what position he would want.”

“But definitely may be one of my deputy speakers,” he added.

Velasco added Majority Leader Martin Romualdez might keep his position.

“Like what I said before, the only changes that we made today is the seat of the Speaker. As to Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, I think he has the full support of the House for the majority leadership,” he said.

, however, said the session which elected Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco as House Speaker was “fake.”

“Ang purpose nila, manggulo. The last time I checked, ang Celebrity Sports Club ay hindi Kongreso. They are throwing the Constitution to waste. Fake session ang ginagawa nila,” Cayetano said.