President Rodrigo Duterte has settled the speakership row between incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco.
MANILA, Philippines — Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco will replace House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives on Oct 14 following a meeting held with President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday.
This was confirmed by one of the lawmakers present at the meeting in Malacanang tonight, according to CNN Philippines. They were joined by eight lawmakers each in the meeting.
“Tapos na ang boksing (The boxing is over),” tweeted PDP-Laban spokesman Ron Munsayac on Tuesday evening.
In July 2019, Duterte facilitated the deal on sharing terms between Cayetano and Velasco by dividing their months in office. Cayetano will serve for the first 15 months and Velasco taking over as Speaker in the next 21 months.
With the latest announcement, Velasco is expected to lead the chamber until the end of 18th Congress in June 2022.