Sotto sees good working ties with former colleague Cayetano as House speaker
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Tito Sotto is expecting to have good working relations with Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros), who would soon take leadership over the House of Representatives.
President Rodrigo Duterte had announced that Cayetano would sit as speaker of the House for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress while Rep. Lord Allan Velasco (Marinduque) would take over the remaining 21 months.
"Second time in history that a Senator becomes Speaker of the House. He knows us, we know him and I do not mean that literally only," Sotto said in a statement.
Cayetano was first elected as senator in 2007 and was reelected for a second term in the 2013 elections.
He did not finish his second term in the Senate as he was appointed as secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs in May 2017.
Cayetano, however, resigned from his post as top diplomat in October when he filed his candidacy for Congress. He had then expressed his plans to become the next House speaker.
Duterte earlier said he would not meddle with the speakership race but later on came up with a term sharing scheme between Cayetano and Velasco, whom Duterte said expressed their intentions during the campaign season.
The president also endorsed Rep. Martin Romualdez (Leyte), who was also vying for the House speakership, as the next majority leader.
“I tried to distance myself from the… But apparently, I said it’s time that I talk. So…that’s the set-up,” Duterte said, adding that he expects all parties to honor the agreement. — Patricia Lourdes Viray
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