Velasco elected Speaker in separate session, Cayetano calls it fake

Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco was elected Speaker by 186 lawmakers in a separate session held outside the Batasang Pambansa complex.

Velasco's ally, Pampanga Rep. Rimpy Bondoc, appealed to the incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to allow them "chance to do well" in the House of Representatives.

Speaker Cayetano, however, dismissed Velasco's election as illegitimate and a "fake session," stating it was conducted illegally outside the legislative chamber.

Cayetano's ally further stated that Velasco's election was only "for show" and that Cayetano will not yield his post.

Two allies of Cayetano, ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Yap and Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte, may keep their posts when Velasco assumes the House leadership.

The House reconvenes as a plenary on Tuesday to discuss the 2021 budget, a measure certified as urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Bondoc expects both Cayetano and Velasco to be "statesmen" during the session, adding that if Cayetano insists on presiding, it would be a situation where "the emperor has no clothes."