THE PHILIPPINE STAR
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Cayetano:
House divided
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By DELON PORCALLA
Aweekbefore the 18th Con-
gress convenes/ presumptive
speaker Alan Peter Cayetano
called on his colleagues from
opposing camps to do away
with squabbles as a "divided"
Hotrse of Representatives will
achieve nothing and will only
fail.
"A House divided will fall.
We will be reaping only what
we have sowry" the retuming
Taguig congressman told his
coll€agues in a meeting over
the weekend.
Cayetano tried to persuade
his colleagues to unite to
achieve harmonv and redeem
Congress' old g6ry.
In a meeting with Marin-
duque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco
and Leyte Rep. Martin Ro-
mualdez, Cayetano called
for a "majority caucus" this
week before Congress opens
onJdy 22.
President Duterte named
Cayetano as his choice for
speaker for 15 months with
Velasco serving the rest of
the three-year term under
the term-sharing agreement.
Romualdez, meanwhile, will
serve as House majority leader
in ful1term.
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I JULY is,2019
Cayetano r-mRaser
"We'rc going to put some gror:nd rules," Cayetano
told his colleagues.
While the speakership will have a term-sharing
asreement asber Duterte's wishes, there should
bE no such setup in the committee chairmanships,
Cavetano stressed.
7'If we can have the best and the brightest from
arnong our camps let's have a healthy compromise
so that we will not disrupt all the committees," Cay-
etano said.
"If we can do that together
we will have shown the world
that 304 kingpins in &eir dis-
tricts can sacrifice their own
interest for the greatest intercst
of the country,t he said.
Cayetano urged his col-
leagues to support him in
reforming the House.
"We will have to reform the
House before we reform oth-
ers, becnuse wlat cr€dibility
do we have if others have done
so but we ourselves could not
do it" he added.
CayetanB {esignated Manda-
luyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales
II as deputy speaker for intemal
affairs to handle the reforcrs.
As it is now, the commit-
tee chairmanship+ those who
will comprise the l2-member
Hous€ contingent in the pow-
erful Commission on Appoint-
ments, the 14 deputy speakers,
thosb who will be sitting at
the House of Representatives
Electoral Ttibunal are now be-
ing ironed out.
A congressman from the
south said most of his col-
leagues had ah,eady accepted
the "Solomonic" wisdom of
the President in naming Cay-
etano and Velasco to divide
the three-year term of speaker.
"There have been no more
rumblings of new develop-
ments in the House after the
' President has spoken. So far,"
the souce told The STAR.
"We have not heard of
anv unusual movement and
.th6re have been no instruc-
tions to vote for this or that.
It's really silent now," the
source said.
The lawmaker expressed
doubts of a maior movement
against the wislies of the Presi:
dent to install Cayetano
speaker
as
Duterte had expressed con-
fidence that Cavetano would
become the nexi speaker as he
has the numbers for the votes
needed on July 22 for his elec-
tion as the House top honcho.
The President e arlier
brushed aside the insinuation
of his son and Davao City Rep.
Paolo Duterte that Cayetano
might not be voted as speaker
in the coming 18th Congress.
Cayetano last week Pro-
posed for extension of the
current three-year term for
congr€ssmen to either a four-
year term with no term Limits
br a five-year term with three
term limits when Congtess
tackles the proposal to amend
the Coistitution.
The losing running mate
I of Duterte in 2016 polls ar-
gued that extending their
terms is necessary in order
to avoid "administrative re-
strictions and limitations" as
. the current three-year term is
too short.
Several Catholic prelates
objected to his proposal.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo and Sor-
sogon Bishop Arturo Bastes
both believed that such pro-
posal is self-serving to law-
makers.
"Ths is something that is
very self serving. The politi-
cians will reallv want to en-
trench themselies in power.
Are they the only ones quali-
fied to get elected?" Pabillo
remarked.
Bastes, for his part, said the
proposal demonstrates the
elected _officials' grced to sta'y
in power.
"ThiS is very bad. They are
really like crocodiles. They
want to rule the tountry for-
ever through their dynasties,"
Bastes said.
- With Edith Regalado,
Edu Punay