‘Verified’ info of ouster plot vs. Cayetano bared

FILE: House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano during the Senate plenary budget deliberations on Tuesday (Nov. 19, 2019). (PNA Photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday bared that there is “verified” information on a supposed ouster plot against him, claiming that Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco was behind such move.

In an ambush interview, Cayetano said Velasco has already been offering chairmanships and funding allocations for congressmen once the latter takes over the top post in the chamber.

“Normal naman kapag nahuhuli, nagde-deny. But unless 20 congressmen are lying to me, that pinapangakuan ng chairmanship at sinasabi na ‘next year is my budget, ako na magdidikta kung kanino ibibigay, etc.’ And I don’t think naman mang-iintriga ang 20 congressmen (It is normal to deny it when you get caught. But unless 20 congressmen are lying to me that they were promised chairmanships and told that ‘next year is my budget, I would dictate to whom it goes’ etc. And I don’t think these 20 congressmen would really spark intrigue),” Cayetano said.

“Nangangako ng pondo at chairmanships at ‘yung iba, s’ya mismo kausap. But as I’ve said, kapag nahuli, ano pa ba ang sasabihin? ([Velasco] has been promising funds and chairmanships, and others have directly talked to him. But as I’ve said, if he gets caught, what else would he say?

),” he added.

Cayetano maintained that he will honor the term-sharing agreement between him and Velasco that President Rodrigo Duterte had brokered in July last year.

Under the term-sharing arrangement, Cayetano would lead the House for 15 months up to October this year while Velasco would serve the remaining 21 months of the Speaker’s three-year term of office.

“I’ve always said pagdating sa leadership issue, susunod tayo sa Pangulo (when it comes to the leadership issue, we would follow the President). So he has nothing to worry about,” Cayetano said.

Earlier in the day, Velasco dismissed as “baseless” and “sly innuendos being peddled by certain camps with vested interests” the supposed coup plan to change the speakership at the House.

“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.

Velasco said he continues to honor the 15-21 term-sharing agreement, adding that he never had any intention of “reneging” on this agreement.

“To my colleagues in Congress, let’s continue to do our mandate to serve our constituency and provide services to people who elected us into office. Our people deserve to enjoy the fruits of progress under President Duterte,” he added.