After weeks of squabble among lawmakers at the House of Representatives on whether or not Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco should take over Alan Peter Cayetano as House Speaker, President Rodrigo Duterte has interfered to settle the dispute.
Duterte met with two lawmakers Tuesday night and came up with the decision that Velasco should be the next Speaker of the House starting October 14.
RELATED STORY: Duterte says yes to ‘term sharing’ between Cayetano and Velasco
The struggle between the two House leaders took place because Cayetano is supposed to step down on September 30th, as part of the 15-21 term sharing deal.
In this deal, Cayetano will serve first for 15 months and Velasco will be the House Speaker for the next 21 months.
Cayetano, however, said that he has the majority of lawmakers and they don’t need a change of leadership in the middle of a health crisis.
READ ON: Lawmaker: Alan Peter Cayetano has 99.9% chance to stay as House Speaker
Velasco, on the other hand, challenged Cayetano to honor the deal brokered by the President himself. He reportedly has the backing of Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte, who has been involved in the ouster of former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
A supermajority of congressmen signed a manisfesto showing their support to Cayetano.
