Push Admin

Velasco to replace leaders in key House posts

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said Monday he will review committee chairmanships at the House of Representatives over the congressional break as there are some that need to be replaced.Velasco assumed the speakership last week after his colleagues voted to oust Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano from the post. The two were supposed to share the position under an agreement brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte.In the deal, Velasco said only the Speaker and the Chairman of the Committee of Accounts were supposed to change, but &quot;as what has happened and transpired...I guess the term-sharing agreement has actually been broken.&quot;&quot;During the recess, I would evaluate actually some of the posts in the committees and see if they are still performing or they need to be changed,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.&quot;There are some posts that are really needing changing mainly because some of the posts require the trust and confidence of the Speaker,&quot; he said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/14/20/house-shuffles-committee-officials-as-velascos-speaker-stint-begins">House shuffles committee officials as Velasco&#x27;s Speaker stint begins</a></li></ul>One thing he would keep, he said, is having Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as the majority leader. Romualdez was another candidate for the speakership in July 2019 when the term-sharing deal was brokered.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aaPe2N3zO24?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>Keeping Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte as deputy speaker was not part of the agreement, said Velasco. &quot;If you noticed, the deputy speakers require trust and confidence of the Speaker,&quot; he said. Villafuerte, an ally of Cayetano, was ousted from his position last Wednesday and was replaced by 1-Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero, Velasco&#x27;s ally who was previously lost the post at the height of the speakership row.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/14/20/house-revamp-cayetano-ally-ousted-romero-back-as-deputy-speaker">House revamp: Cayetano ally ousted, Romero back as Deputy Speaker</a></li></ul>Another Cayetano ally, ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Eric Yap, will stay as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations after he successfully led the passage of the 2021 budget, said Velasco.Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, the President&#x27;s son, was recently installed as chairman of the Committee on Accounts, which handles the internal budget of the House. He replaced Cavite Rep. Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino.Oriental Mindoro Rep. Doy Leachon, another Velasco ally, replaced the younger Duterte as senior deputy speaker.Asked if he set out to remove people who personally attacked him during the wrangling for speakership, Velasco said, &quot;not really.&quot;&quot;I haven’t really removed a lot of people. I still have to evaluate each and every member’s post and their performance. I’m not attacking anyone,&quot; he said.Velasco offered to make Cayetano a deputy speaker to accord him &quot;respect&quot; as a former leader of the chamber, but they have not yet spoken personally.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/16/20/deputy-speakership-offer-to-cayetano-still-stands-velasco">Deputy speakership offer to Cayetano still stands: Velasco</a></li></ul>The two lawmakers met with President Duterte after the row was settled, and Velasco said Cayetano apologized to both the president and him. The meeting was cordial and friendly, he said.&quot;He just said ‘I’m sorry for what happened,’ and he kept on saying that he might have misread the instructions of the President,&quot; Velasco recalled.Cayetano earlier offered to resign from the Speaker post, but it was rejected by the plenary. He later sought to terminate the 2021 budget deliberations and suspend sessions ahead of Velasco supposedly taking helm. He tendered his irrevocable resignation after Velasco was sworn in as the new House Speaker.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/13/20/ousted-cayetano-resigns-as-velasco-assumes-speakership">Ousted Cayetano resigns as Velasco assumes Speakership</a></li></ul>

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said Monday he will review committee chairmanships at the House of Representatives over the congressional break as there are some that need to be replaced.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said Monday he will review committee chairmanships at the House of Representatives over the congressional break as there are some that need to be replaced.