Rep. Cayetano Is the New House Speaker; Sen. Tito Sotto Re-elected as Senate President
CAYETANO – Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III are the House Speaker and the Senate President, respectively.
A few hours before the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the leadership in the Senate and the House of Representatives were finalized.
To be recalled, during the 3rd SONA of the President, the national event was delayed as there was a commotion. There was an attempt to replace then-Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Alvarez was replaced by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after the SONA 2018.
Meanwhile, what happened in 2018 will possibly not happen again as the two(2) chambers are all set for the Duterte SONA 2019.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, in the House of Representatives, Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano was elected as the House Speaker. In the Senate, Senate President Tito Sotto was re-elected.
Cayetano got 266 votes out of 297 lawmakers in the plenary. He was the bet of the President to seat as the House Speaker. Reportedly, he and the President met before the voting in the plenary.
With regards to the presidency in the Senate, according to the report, there was no opposition for the re-election of Sotto as the Senate President as there were no other nominations during the election.
Two senators, detained Sen. Leila de Lima and Sen. Manny Pacquiao, were not able to vote because they were not present during the election. For his part, the boxing champ has previously showed support to Sotto.
The SONA 2019 will start in a few hours from now. We’ll keep you posted for updates.
READ ALSO: Alvarez Asserts Having No Ill Will Against Arroyo Over House Speakership
