Garnering 266 votes, Taguig City-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano is the new House Speaker, Philstar.com's Ian Cigaral reports.
With 28 votes, that makes Manila Rep. Benny Abante Jr. minority leader.
2 hours ago
With 266 votes, Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros) is elected House speaker, putting him at the helm of the House of Representatives and fourth in the line of succession.
Rep. Benny Abante (Manila), who was nominated as speaker, received 28 votes from his colleagues. The losing nominee for speaker is, by tradition, the minority leader.
The Makabayan bloc backed Abante's bid for speaker despite earlier saying they would field Rep. Carlos Zarate (Bayan Muna) for the speakership.
Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay) abstained from voting, saying he would remain an independent. He was part of the "Magnificent 7" independent bloc in the 17th Congress.
3 hours ago
Voting for speaker is ongoing at the House of Representatives between Reps. Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros) and Benny Abante (Manila).
The two candidates voted for each other.
Former contenders for the post, Reps. Paolo Duterte (Davao City) and Martin Romualdez (Leyte) nominated Cayetano, while members of a minority raised Abante's nomination.
Aside from electing Sen. Vicente Sotto III as Senate president, the chamber also elected the following leaders to the same roles that they held during the 17th Congress:
- Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto
- Juan Miguel Zubiri as chairman of the Committee on Rules, and therefore majority leader
- Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon
Sen. Ralph Recto is elected Senate president pro-tempore, the second highest official of the chamber. — The STAR
