Presidential son and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte confirmed on Sunday that he sent to other congressmen a Viber message notifying them of his threat of a possible coup that could affect the House of Representatives leadership.
Duterte’s move is the recent update regarding the ongoing tussle among lawmakers over budget allocations for their respective districts as the House Committee on Appropriations deliberates the P4.5-trillion National Expenditure Program for 2021, the basis for the national budget bill.
“I do not want to get involved, however, I wish to help my fellow lawmakers find answers to their questions or remedies to the budget that they proposed for their people. If the members of Congress will push for a change in House leadership, as a reaction to their sentiments, obviously I would be among the casualties because I am a deputy speaker,” Duterte said.
“I am ready to accept the consequences…[It] was an expression of my personal dismay upon hearing the concerns of my fellow lawmakers,” he also said.
Duterte revealed that some lawmakers in the lower chamber have talked to him to express their “disappointment and consternation” over the 2021 budget. He mentioned the possible misgivings with the leadership of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, a known loyal ally of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I already told you, I am just keeping silent because the Speaker’s camp isn’t speaking to me anymore, and now I am suddenly dragged into this. I will ask the Mindanao Bloc to declare the seat of Speaker and Deputy Speakers vacant this Monday.” Duterte’s Viber message in Filipino read.
“Now as Congress continues to be hounded by the issue of budget—something that finds its way up to the current House leadership, how it treats its members, how it approves allocations and budgets with fairness or lack of it—let me reiterate my position. I do not want to get involved, however, I wish to help my fellow lawmakers find answers to their questions or remedies to the budget that they proposed for their people,” he said. RJ Espartinez