MARINDUQUE Lord Allan Velasco on Thursday, February 27, said he is not involved in the alleged ouster plot against House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
Velasco, who is set to take over the House speakership in October 2020, said he will not back out of the term-sharing deal with Cayetano.
“To my kababayans, these reports are far from the truth. 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,” Velasco said.
“Up to this day, I continue to honor the term-sharing agreement brokered by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte when the 18th Congress convened in July 2019. From the beginning, I never had any intention of reneging on this agreement,” he added.
The term-sharing deal allows Cayetano to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives until October 2020 and mandates him to step down to pave the way for Velasco’s assumption as Speaker until the 18th Congress ends in 2022.
On the sidelines of his scholarship orientation in Taguig City Thursday, February 27, 2020, Cayetano said that Velasco is behind the ouster plot against him.
According to Cayetano, at least 20 lawmakers told him that Velasco and his allies in the House have been offering budget allocations and chairmanships under his speakership.
“Nangangako ng pondo at chairmanship, at 'yong iba siya mismo kausap, 'di ba? But as I said, 'pag nahuli ano pa ba sasabihin- Normal naman 'pag nahuhuli, nagde-deny. But unless about 20 congressmen are lying to me that pinapangakuan ng chairmanship at sinasabi na, ‘Next year, it’s my budget. Ako na magdidikta kung kanino ibibigay’ etcetera, etcetera, and I don’t think naman mang-iintriga ang 20 congressmen,” Cayetano told reporters. (SunStar Philippines)