Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday denied that his district and his allies in the House of Representatives will get bigger allocations for infrastructure projects in the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget.
In a statement through Facebook Live, Cayetano said seven of the 10 districts with the highest infrastructure allocations are represented by lawmakers who "are not very close to him."
"Look at the top 10. Tiningnan ko na yung top 10 sa mga distrito na nakakuha. Seven out of 10 ay hindi super close sa akin. Hindi mo masasabing barkada," he said.
As of press time, Cayetano's office has yet to furnish the media the list of the 10 districts with the highest infrastructure allocations.
The Speaker was replying to Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves, who had questioned why Taguig – Cayetano’s district — and Camarines Sur were getting the largest slices of the public works budget.
Cayetano's statement came as Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, the supposed Speaker-in-waiting, over the weekend alleged that the Taguig legislator was holding the 2021 budget deliberations just to obtain funds.
But Cayetano said one of the districts that got a big infrastructure allocation was Bukidnon Rep. Manuel Zubiri, saying Zubiri did not even vote to reject the Speaker’s offer to resign last week.
"But he [Zubiri] is a very diligent, very smart, very hardworking guy na kahit may COVID nagpapakita sa floor. I work well with him at walang problema. I will support his budget whether he supports me or not," Cayetano said.
"Ang problema nga sobrang uhaw sa kapangyarihan ng iba ay willing silang isabatohe ang budget process, willing sila na kahit tatlong beses na pakiusapan ng presidente ay mag-no sa harap niya at willing manggulo. Let's put everything in the right time. Hindi panahon ngayon ng pamumulitika," he added.
This developed as the word war between the Cayetano and Velasco camps continued, and a party-list lawmaker said the Speaker has lost his grip and influence over the 304-member legislative chamber for continuing to defy the term-sharing agreement brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Deputy Speakers Danilo Fernandez of Laguna and Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, both Cayetano supporters, on Monday slammed Velasco’s allies for engaging in “double-talk and disinformation” when the latter claimed they have the numbers to oust the Speaker.
Fernandez's statement came in response to Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Salvador Leachon, who both earlier claimed victory for Velasco in the Speakership fight given the 154 supporters for the Marinduque lawmaker from the party-list bloc, the ruling party PDP-Laban, and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).
Atienza said the House leadership's move to unseat Party-list Rep. Michael Romero of 1Pacman as Deputy Speaker has put Cayetano in a difficult situation.
“Alan (Cayetano) has lost a lot of support (following Romero’s removal as deputy speaker),” Atienza said, noting that Romero wields influence over the party-list coalition, which has 54 members.
Atienza said he was also quite sure the President’s political party, PDP-Laban, “will be in support of Velasco.” There are 65 House members belonging to the ruling party.
“I am sure hindi hihiway ang mga political chieftains kay Presidente,” Atienza said.
The NPC, which has 35 members in the Lower House, is also backing Velasco as speaker.
“All he (Velasco) has to do is call the smaller groups,” Atienza said.
But Fernandez said the number does not add up because Velasco’s allies did not consider those from party-lists and PDP-Laban blocs who have said they support Cayetano’s continued leadership.
As an example, Fernandez pointed to Party-list Reps. Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan and Rodante Marcoleta of Sagip as among those from party-lists bloc who support Cayetano but are still being counted as voting for Velasco.
Sadly, Fernandez said, Rep. Francisco Datol of Senior Citizen, who died last month, is included in the total number being quoted by Leachon and Atienza.
“The Velasco camp should at least show some respect, and not include the dead in their count," said Fernandez.
He also noted that Reps. Johnny Pimentel of Surigao del Sur and Aurelio Gonzales of Pampanga, who were previously allied with Velasco, are now supporting Cayetano, having both signed the manifesto of support for the Speaker and voted to reject his resignation.
Villafuerte said while the House is focused on making sure that the budget is passed on time, Velasco and his allies are preoccupied with trying to get the members to join their “hopeless cause.”
"In their desperation to mislead the President, our colleagues, and the public Cong. Atienza and Cong. Leachon have even resorted to outright lying to pad their numbers," Villafuerte said.
