Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco criticized Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano for the latter’s speech, which allegedly only affected the work of the congressmen.
In Velasco’s Facebook post, he insisted that Cayetano resigns on October 14 per their agreement in a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night.
“October 14 was chosen as the date for the turnover because we committed to pass the budget before October 14 and do nothing else that would disrupt or derail the process,”
said the representative of Marinduque.
Based on their term sharing agreement in July 2019, Cayetano will be the leader of the House for the first 15 months, and Velasco for the next 21 months.
Cayetano’s term as Speaker will end this October. But some lawmakers are advocating that Cayetano remains in the office not to delay the deliberation of the 2021 budget that is now needed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is most unfortunate, therefore, that today, deliberations on the budget was suspended. Instead of focusing on the work at hand, further political maneuverings and theatrics took the budget deliberations hostage,” Velasco said.
Velasco slams Cayetano’s resignation speech
In Cayetano’s speech at the plenary, he offered to resign as Speaker so that Velasco could sit. But the congressmen voted and rejected his resignation.
Following this, there was also a motion to postpone deliberation on the 2021 budget until Friday.
“We lost an entire day, and even tomorrow, where you have declared that no session will be conducted, which are crucial in meeting our timeline,” Velasco said.
“These attacks and distractions serve no purpose other than to perpetuate what is a purely personal agenda threatening to delay the passage of the budget,” he added.
At the same time, Velasco called on fellow legislators to pass the 2021 budget before or until October 14.
Meanwhile, Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list Representative Jericho Nograles said voting on whether to accept or reject Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s offer to resign is a “waste of legislative time.”
He also said the timing of Cayetano’s move to offer his resignation is terrible because the Congress is in the middle of deliberations on the proposed 2021 national budget.