MANILA - Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte on Tuesday said he might run for House Speaker in the 18th Congress.

Duterte earlier said he does not want the House leadership post but changed his mind after hearing talks of "term sharing" from Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.

• Paolo Duterte: I did not say I want to be Speaker

"The House is divided. I might be able to help unite it. Pareho lang kaming binoto ng mga tao ah. Kung term sharing, term sharing na kaming lahat,” he said in a statement.

“We are not talking about two persons here. We are talking about our beloved country. It is not about Speakership alone, but who is the right person to unite Congress and I hope those running for the Speakership stop influencing the Cabinet."

Duterte said he would like the House Speaker post to be shared by lawmakers from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and the party-list groups.

“I will ask the Visayas bloc to elect their speaker for their term share, and so with the Mindanao bloc and the partylist coalition,” he said.

Among those vying for House Speakership are Cayetano, Marinduque Rep. Lord Alan Velasco, and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.