Taguig-Pateros representative Alan Peter Cayetano was elected as the new House Speaker of the 18th Congress Monday.
With 266 votes, Cayetano beat fellow nominee Representative Bienvenido ‘Benny’ Abante Jr. of the sixth district of Manila who received 28 votes.
Meanwhile, two representatives abstained, and one did not cast any vote.
A total of 297 congressmen were present during the 1st regular session of the 18th Congress.
Davao Representative Paolo Duterte, who earlier congratulated Cayetano in his breakfast meeting, was among those who nominated and voted for Cayetano as House speaker.
Cayetano was endorsed by President Duterte as House speaker of the 18th Congress, under a term-sharing agreement with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco.
Prior to being elected as House speaker, the Taguig-Pateros representative served as Foreign Affairs secretary from May 2017 to October 2018.