REPRESENTATIVE Michael Romero of 1-Pacman Party-list, an ally of newly elected Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, was reelected and re-installed as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, October 14, 2020.
Romero replaced Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte, an ally of newly ousted speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
Romero regained his position a day after Velasco assumed the position of Speaker, following the ratification of his election.
He was removed as deputy speaker on October 2, as the battle for the speakership intensified between Velasco and Cayetano.
The House also elected on Wednesday Oriental Mindoro Rep. Salvador Leachon as senior deputy speaker, replacing Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, who was named on Tuesday as the chairman of the committee on accounts.
Leachon is also an ally of Velasco.
A couple of hours before they Romero and Leachon were elected, Cayetano reminded Velasco to honor his commitment to maintain status quo in the House leadership positions.
Romero and Leachon were among the 186 members of the House who ousted Cayetano and elected Velasco as Speaker on Monday, October 12.
The speakership row, which was resolved in July 2019 after President Rodrigo Duterte brokered a term-sharing agreement, reignited in late September 2020 after Cayetano refused to give way to Velasco.
Under their term-sharing deal, Cayetano will serve as speaker for the first 15 months and Velasco will take over for the remaining 21 months of the 18th Congress.
Cayetano tried to hold on to the post by suspending session on October 6, 11 days ahead of the scheduled recess on October 17.
Duterte, however, issued Proclamation 1027 calling for a special session on October 13 to 16 to ensure no delays in the approval of the 2021 budget, which will fund the government’s pandemic response and economic recovery programs.
Velasco was elected as speaker in a session held by the 186 congressmen outside the Batasang Pambansa a day before the special session opened. (Marites Villamor-Ilano/SunStar Philippines)