House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday expressed his gratitude to President Rodrigo Duterte for “respecting” the overwhelming support of the House of Representatives for his leadership.

“I welcome the many statements of the President upholding the independence of Congress, and respecting the votes of confidence given by its members to the present leadership and finally putting this controversy to rest,” the Taguig lawmaker said in a Facebook post a day after his offer of resignation was rejected by the members.

“And just as he has put his faith in the leadership of the House to do the right thing, we also reaffirm our support for the President and his vision for a free, strong, and prosperous Philippines,” he added.

Cayetano made the statement after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the President had said he will stay out of the leadership row in Congress after 184 House members voted to reject Cayetano’s resignation.

“Katatawag lang po sa akin ng Presidente. Sabi po niya, stay out tayo dyan. No comment tayo dyan. That’s purely an internal affair of the House of Representatives. Ibig sabihin ginagalang po ni Presidente ang raging botohan,” Roque said in a television interview.

“Tingin ko po tapos na ang kontrobersya na ito,” he added.

With a fresh vote of confidence from his colleagues, Cayetano reiterated his commitment to push for the passage of the P4.5-trillion national budget for 2021 on time.

“We have made a vow to the President and the country that we will craft a budget that Congress can be proud of — one that will put us on solid footing to full recovery. A budget that will be pork-free, without parked funds, and with no corruption. And we will not let them down. We cannot let them down,” he said.