Daily Tribune (Philippines) - HotSpot
House leadership
On shaky grounds
It’s been months since the Duterte allies battled for the country’s third highest position. Unlike prior years, this was the first time the President’s endorsement was publicly sought notwithstanding the separation of the co-equal branches of government provided under the Constitution. The 18th Congress is key to the administration of President Duterte as the chamber provides the platform for the smooth passage of the government’s projects and programs.
The House of Representatives and the Senate together craft the legislation needed to reform the economy, provide security for Filipinos and deliver the services the people need. Any failure to do so in fulfilment of the President’s promise during his last three years in office will stain the legacy he wants to leave behind.
According to Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, all the second half of every past administration is a very critical phase. He said the last half is always the “banner year” of each outgoing chief executive.
Salceda said the Duterte administration is under pressure to sustain the stakes and interests of
entrepreneurs here in the Philippines, its financial market, the Build, Build, Build program and the Comprehensive Tax Reform momentum represented by the administration.
With a high approval rating and many promises to fulfill, is the President last three years at risk for quelling the infighting among his allies?
Right after the elections, ebullient congressmen who previously hinted at joining the speakership race, formally declared their interest for the top seat at the House.
These included Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Pampanga Rep. Dong Gonzales and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
As early as October 2018, then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Cayetano bared his dream of leading the House as Speaker.
Speakership fight
He said the “context” of his interest for the speakership was triggered by the budget delay that affected, for instance, the preparations for the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) which will be hosted by the Philippines.
“In context, there was a dispute in the budget and, as
The “context” of his interest for the speakership was triggered by the budget delay that affected, for instance, the preparations for the upcoming 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) which will be hosted by the Philippines.
organizer of the SEA Games, I realized the impact of a delayed plan. It is not as simple as expecting to get it in January or February but actually have it in April or May,” Cayetano, chairman of Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee, told a press conference in Taguig.
Come November 2018, Velasco was named by no less than the President and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte as the next House Speaker in two separate events.
It was a very special birthday for Velasco, a close friend of the Duterte family, when father and daughter tagged him as Speaker in front of an audience of supporters in his bailiwick.
Sources said he was supposed to be installed as Speaker after the ouster of Davao Del Norte Rep. Alvarez but that he refused to take the post.
Velasco joined Mayor Duterte at various Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) sorties in almost 70 provinces across the Philippines. But in one other HNP sortie in Tacloban, Mayor Duterte similarly promoted Romualdez’ speakership bid in his bailiwick.
The presidential daughter explained she will support the bid of any contender who will support the administration of her father.
On the other hand, the ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) asserted their dominance in the chamber and said they will also take part in the speakership race. Consequently, party stalwarts Alvarez and Gonzales expressed their interests on the post as well.
But another Duterte came into the scene as Davao City 1st District Paolo Duterte’s name was floated by some as another contender for House speaker. He denied his interest for the post after the President warned that he will resign if Rep. Duterte pursues the position.
Escalation of rivalry
The rivalry escalated after Alvarez alleged some candidates resorted to vote-buying to secure the numbers and win the post.
The former speaker said one contender offered P500,000 per lawmaker while another gave away P1 million. All five contenders denied the allegations.
Fast forward to the President’s State Visit to Japan when Velasco, Cayetano and Romualdez asked for the President’s endorsement for speaker.
The Chief Executive said he no longer wanted to meddle in the speakership squabble but in an effort to establish a common ground, he proposed the idea of term-sharing.
Cayetano would then attach himself to the termsharing proposal, his last shot at the post, that Velasco opposed even before the speakership race.
In an interview in March, Velasco said term sharing at the Lower Chamber, unlike at the |Senate, is not ideal as legislators work on a six-year term.
“The Senate is okay because they have a six-year term, but at the House, where we only have three years, that is too short,” he explained.
To manifest their opposition to term-sharing, a multi-party group of some 60 PDP members signed a manifesto naming Velasco as House Speaker.
The manifesto was signed by Gonzales on behalf of PDP members, which also meant he dropped from the race, by Rizal Rep. Michael John Duavit and Valenzuela Rep. Wes Gatchalian on behalf of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), by incoming Ilocos Sur Rep. Kristine Singson on behalf of Northern Luzon Alliance and 1-Pacman Rep. Mikee Romero on behalf of the 54-man Party-list Coalition.
With the manifesto, Velasco, Cayetano and Romualdez were the three remaining contenders who still pursued their candidacy.
The former Foreign Affairs chief would subsequently resort to mudslinging that forced Rep. Paolo Duterte to formally announce his own interest in joining the race.
“The House is divided, I might be able to help unite it,” the presidential son said.
But a day after, Mayor Sarah Duterte, as Hugpong ng Pagbabago chairman, fielded Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab as their bet, saying the President will not accept Paolo’s plan due to a sensitivity locally known as delicadeza.
Presidential intervention
After withdrawing his bid, Rep. Duterte joined forces with Mayor Duterte to form the Duterte Coalition in the chamber together with their allies in Davao Region, namely Davao City 2nd District Rep. Vincent Garcia, Davao Oriental 1st District Rep. Corazon Malanyaon, Compostela Valley 1st District Rep. Manuel Zamora, Davao Occidental Rep. Lorna Bautista-Bandigan, DUMPER Partylist Rep. Claudine Bautista, MARINO Reps. Sandro Gonzales and Rep. Anton Lopez.
To break the impasse, the President finally announced he will push for term-sharing because the three candidates were all his friends.
Cayetano supposedly getting the first 15 months, then Velasco presides on the last 21 months, followed by Romualdez who will get the position as Majority Floor Leader.
Shortly after the announcement, Cayetano encouraged his colleagues in the chamber to join the ‘Die-hard Duterte Super Majority’.
The Party-list Coalition said that they will abide by the President’s wishes ‘for now’ to meet their demand of 20 percent membership in all committees and positions at the House.
Some lawmakers also said they will follow the President’s suggestion as they only have two weeks to assign supporters to the top positions and committee chairmanships considering that a large number of House members are neophytes.
But the Palace made it clear the President’s announcement was a mere “suggestion” and that lawmakers are not compelled to vote for Cayetano.
President Duterte said in an exclusive pre-State of the Nation Address interview with the Daily Tribune he will not take offense if House allies do not favor his proposed compromise.
“It’s okay with me, that is just my formula. I said, it’s time for me to talk… since conflict had started. All of them were asking, what did Duterte say? Actually, before the elections, we were together (referring to Cayetano. So, he told me someday he will run for congressman and Speaker… then Lord (Allan Velasco)… came in and he was also interested. So, let us see,” Mr. Duterte said.
Still and all, the speakership race is a shaky numbers game. Cayetano is not assured of the position given that he does not have many allies at the House after he estranged himself from colleagues while pursuing different endeavors.
Aside from that, the Duterte Coalition has not expressed its preference yet and Rep. Duterte even warned of a coup initiated by one of the three contenders.
Earlier, Mayor Duterte, an influential person who led the ouster of then Speaker Alvarez, revealed that Cayetano went to Davao and made a ‘veiled threat’, saying he will ‘break the group’ if she endorses Velasco for the post.
So, will this year’s selection be more complicated than last year’s coup?
The answer will be revealed in the morning of 22 July, mere hours before President Duterte delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address.