Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, a known close ally of former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, was ousted from his leadership post and was replaced by 1-Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero as Deputy Speaker.
Villafuerte was one of the last few lawmakers who defended Cayetano until he was removed from the Speakership.
Upon his removal, Villafuerte accused the Velasco leadership of “rejecting” their “offers of cooperation.”
“If the intention of removing me was to intimidate all those who remain loyal to former Speaker Cayetano, then they have miscalculated badly. Their vindictiveness merely shows that we were right all along, and exposes the kind of ‘leadership’ we can expect,” he said.
Romero, an ally of Velasco, also lost his Deputy Speaker post last week at the height of the leadership showdown between the two runners., upon the orders of Cayetano.
Aside from Romero, another Velasco ally, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Doy Leachon, will take over Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte’s Senior Deputy Speaker post.
Duterte, President Rodrigo Duterte’s son, was handed on Tuesday the chairmanship of the House Committee on Accounts.
