Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday said the newly formed political bloc called “BTS” or “Back to Service” in Congress aims to transform the institution from being the “House of Politics” to the “House of People”.

Cayetano, in an interview, said the newly formed BTS in Congress is not meant to offend the members of the original BTS, a popular K-pop band. “Nagkataon lang na we have coined our slogan to Bayanihan, Tapang at Servicio (It so happened that when we crafted our slogan, it created the BTS acronym),” he said.

When asked to comment on a statement of angry BTS fans that Cayetano used the Korean group in launching the political bloc to gain popularity, he said he received mixed reactions. “Not all were negatives, some said it was a welcome move, ipaglaban mo kami (fight for us).”

Cayetano and his wife Lani, who is also a Taguig City Representative, met with members of an evangelical and Christian religious group in Albay and Barangay Health Workers (BHW) to distribute boxes of groceries to some 200 beneficiaries at the Albay Astrodome here.

In an interview, he said the launch of the BTS was aimed at giving the House of Representatives an honest to goodness platform for giving legislative service devoid of patronage politics and idleness.

Traditional politics is at play in Congress, causing it to veer away from ideally being the House of the People and changed it into a “House of Politics”, Cayetano said.

The BTS, he said, would not engage in traditional politics but focus on bringing legislative agenda guided by the organization mantra, “Bayanihan, Tapang at Servicio”.

He said the BTS bloc is similar to the “Spice Boys” of 1998 comprising six lawmakers who, he said changed the way legislative business was undertaken.

The BTS, whose members include Representatives Mike Defensor, Dan Fernandez, LRay Villafuerte, Ranie Abu, Jonathan Alvarado, Fred Castro, and Cayetano, will meet on Thursday to formalize the formation of the political bloc.

The group will scrutinize and open for debate the current proposed measures on the coronavirus disease pandemic, vaccination program, Charter change, economy, and government service delivery.

Government has to focus on two things first: the pandemic and the vaccination. “Anything that has nothing to do with the pandemic should be set aside first,” Cayetano said.

He said the national government should be able to deliver to the public “BFF” (Better, Faster, and Forever) service. (PNA)