By Artchil B. Fernandez
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.’” (Isaiah 14:12-13)
Hubris, pride is the cause of Lucifer’s downfall. The same can be said of one Alan Peter Cayetano. He was so enchanted with his own cunning, wiliness, and slyness that he thought he was above, greater, and more powerful than the Capo di Tutti Capi.
In one swift swoop, the Capo di Tutti Capi moved to resolve the crisis that threatens not only his strongman stature but the finances of his administration. Alan Peter Cayetano, on the other hand, sought to prolong the crisis to his advantage. Finally, the 15-21 teledrama that gripped the nation for a month a half ended this week.
Alan Peter Cayetano provoked the crisis when he refused to honor the agreement brokered by Du30 in July last year on the term-sharing of the Speakership of the Lower House. He serves for 15 months while his rival Lord Allan Velasco gets 21 months. But Cayetano got too comfortable with the post. Drunk with power and fueled by higher ambition he maneuvered to scuttle the agreement.
As a veteran of the House and incumbent holder of the post, Cayetano has the advantage over his rival and used his edge to the fullest. In the initial bout, it appears Velasco was at the losing end. Using the largesse of his office, Cayetano tightened his grip on his bloc and marginalized Velasco’s group. An emboldened Cayetano dared Velasco to get the Speakership if he can.
Du30 on the other hand tried to steer clear of the Cayetano-Velasco tiff when it erupted, acting neutral to the power play between his allies. He seems content to be a bystander to the whole affair. This initial reaction of Du30 bolstered the confidence of Cayetano. With Du30’s seemingly hands-off policy on the Speakership feud, Cayetano is certain he can retain his post.
Sensing he is losing the fight, Velasco again sought the intervention of Du30. Both contenders were called by Du30 to Malacañang and in that meeting at the end of September it was announced that the term sharing-agreement holds. October 14 was the selected turn-over date, two days before Congress was scheduled to go on recess.
By the time Du30 interceded, the Speakership row was getting out of hand and Cayetano’s mind made up – he will not yield the Speaker post to Velasco. To pre-empt Velasco’s take-over, Cayetano offered to resign his post which was promptly rejected by an overwhelming majority of House members. In Cayetano’s script, he has already fulfilled his part of the bargain in the agreement by the resignation offer. The rejection gave him a fresh mandate and terminated the agreement.
To forestall Velasco’s counter-move and seal his fate, Cayetano abruptly suspended the session of the House for a month last week. Cayetano is buying time to consolidate his gains while at the same time outflanking Velasco once more. With Congress in recess, the October 14 turn-over of leadership cannot happen. Cayetano is hoping there will be a different political environment, likely favorable to him by the time Congress resumes session on November 16.
This is where Cayenato over-reached. The unintended casualty in Cayetano’s manipulation of events is the 2021 national budget. With a month’s delay, the Senate said it cannot pass the 2021 budget on time and promptly declared that a re-enacted budget is a reality. A re-enacted budget is Du30’s nightmare with the finances of his administration in peril. There is no budget for the pandemic as well as to bankroll his anointed candidate. Cayetano on the other hand thought that holding the 2021 budget hostage gives him leverage over Du30 and is the key to keep the Speaker post. He instead inadvertently precipitated a showdown with Du30.
Alarmed that his 2021 budget was in danger, Du30 finally realized the Speakership row was now a serious threat to the financial stability of his administration. He immediately warned the House to settle its trouble or he will solve it. Du30 countered Cayetano’s suspension of session by calling for a special session of Congress this week.
Events moved fast over the weekend in preparation for the special session. By Monday, the group of Velasco gathered at Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City, declared the Speaker post vacant and 186 representatives elected Velasco as the new Speaker. The whole episode was covered live by government television station, betraying Du30’s insistence on neutrality and hands-off policy.
Cayetano’s fighting words and defiance were overwhelmed by the speedy turn of events. His claimed 205 supporters melted and suddenly disappeared. The following day, as Congress opened the special session, Velasco’s election as Speaker was ratified in the session hall while Cayetano resigned from the post via Facebook.
In the end, Cayetano ate the humble pie and was forced to apologize to Du30. “Mr. President, if I made a mistake, mali ang reading ko, misunderstood ko na gusto mong ituloy at tapusin ko ang budget, ako’y humihingi ng paumanhin. Hindi ko intention—never—na hindi ka sundin.”
Thus, Peter fell and Lord ascended. Cayetano made a grave miscalculation when he assumed that he can hold Du30 hostage through the 2021 budget. Blinded by power, especially the 205 signatures of support, Cayetano forgot that those signatures can vanish in a flick of a finger given the shifty and treacherous nature of politics in the House. How can a veteran politician like Cayetano miss this?
Is this an all is well that ends well? Not likely given the bitterness of the rivalry between Cayetano and Velasco. Like Humpty Dumpty, the Super Majority had a big fall. As the 2022 election nears the fractures will only become more and more apparent.
