Cayetano beats the odds

MANILA, Philippines — The expected fireworks fizzled out at the last minute and, in the end, members of the House of Representatives opted yesterday to follow the wishes of President Duterte by electing his 2016 runningmate, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, as speaker.

Cayetano, a former senator and foreign affairs secretary, won overwhelmingly over his lone opponent for the speakership, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, whom the majority decided to support as minority leader over the weekend.

The Taguig-Pateros lawmaker received 266 votes, against Abante’s 28. Reps. Lito Atienza of Buhay and Manuel Cabochan of Magdalo abstained from voting, while Edcel Lagman cast a “no” vote.

Addressing his supporters after they elected him, Cayetano said the House is the partner of the Duterte administration “in pursuing a better life for all Filipinos, whether we talk about teachers, senior citizens, the youth, overseas Filipino workers, workers in the government and private sector, out-of-school youth, rich or poor, young or old, of whatever persuasion or religion.”

Malacañang welcomed Cayetano’s election and emphasized the President did not interfere in the choice of Speaker.

“In the first place, the President does not want to interfere. His help was sought, so he gave a formula. As he said, he does not mind if he gets followed or not, ‘if I get approached for help, I’ll give you one – it’s up to you,’” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters before the start of the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Cayetano, meanwhile, said the House would help President Duterte “win the campaign against drugs, crime and corruption… against poverty and other things that are killing the Filipino people in our nation.”

He thanked his colleagues for the trust they have given him and urged them to embrace reform.

“People love their congressmen, but they love to hate Congress. This is something I ask all of you in unison. Let us change that, because this is the House of the People… We will do what is right, so that we will have a Congress that is relevant, responsive and reliable,” Cayetano said.

The House also elected Reps. Martin Romualdez as majority leader, and Paolo Duterte of Davao City, Ferdinand Hernandez of South Cotabato, Evelina Escudero of Sorsogon, Loren Legarda of Antique, Prospero Pichay and Johnny Pimentel of Surigao del Sur, Roberto Puno of Antipolo City, Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga, Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, Conrado Estrella III of Abono and Eduardo Villanueva of Citizens Battle Against Corruption as deputy speakers.

Reps. Isidro Ungab of Davao City and Abraham Tolentino of Cavite were voted chairmen of the committee on appropriations and committee on accounts, respectively, while Jesus Crispin Remulla also of Cavite was chosen deputy majority leader. – With Christina Mendez, Edith Regalado