By Fernan Angeles
HOUSE Speaker Allan Peter Cayetano hinted on stepping down from his post, if and only if his fellow legislators would want him to.
Reacting to reports dragging presidential son and House Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte as plotting another coup at the lower legislative chamber, Cayetano did not make any categorical manner in which he would give up his post, but hinted at a majority rule as the compelling reason for him to yield his post.
Duterte earlier admitted having farmed out text messages to fellow congressmen to move and declare the position of the House Speaker as vacant. He later on retracted on such adding that it was just a pigment of his frustration over numerous complaints over unfair distribution of congressional district funds.
Cayetano and the young Duterte had a meeting after the latter retracted his statement.
Earlier, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga hinted on a landslide win for Cayetano if the House of Representatives as a collegial body would decide to cast a vote to determine who between Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco should be the House Speaker.
President Duterte brokered a deal in 2016 between his two political allies Cayetano and Velasco in 2016 for term-sharing that would give each a 15-month stint as House Speaker. However, reports had Cayetano unwilling to abide by the gentleman’s agreement over what he claimed as efforts to topple him down midway his 15-month term as Speaker.