MANILA – The apparent power play in the election of Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Speaker of the House of Representatives is not lost on the opponents of the former president.
They warned that her takeover of the Lower House might lead Arroyo into becoming the prime minister if the Duterte administration succeeds in amending the Constitution in its push for a federal system of government.
Arroyo formally replaced Pantaleon Alvarez during an election that saw her garnering votes from 184 of the 238 representatives present in a special session Monday evening.
But earlier in the day – more than an hour before President Rodrigo Duterte delivered this third State of the Nation Address – Arroyo was seen up the rostrum at the Batasang Pambansa plenary hall, appearing to address her colleagues and taking oath as new Speaker.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the House leadership change before the joint session of Congress on Monday was “awkward, ugly, low, and disgraceful.”
“In a manner of speaking, even the traditionally symbolic mace was in a maze … not knowing whose authority it would represent,” Lacson said.
The House Mace, a symbol of authority in the Lower House, went missing from the rostrum when Arroyo went up.
Colleagues reportedly voted for Arroyo as new Speaker after their morning session adjourned at noon and Alvarez left the hall to fetch the President, who was set to speak by afternoon.
Arroyo’s takeover is “a strong argument against a parliamentary form of government where patronage politics plays a major, if not the only, role in selecting our country’s top leader,” said Lacson.
“If GMA’s ascension to the speakership is a prelude to becoming prime minister, they better think twice,” he said. “The Senate, both majority and minority, agreed to close ranks to defend and assert our role under the 1987 Constitution in revising or amending the same – that I can say with certainty and conviction.”
HONORED
In a statement released Tuesday, Arroyo said she was “extremely honored” to have been elected House Speaker.
“I will endeavor to carry out the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Lower House,” she said.
Arroyo – who was charged with plunder and spent four years on hospital arrest while suffering from cervical spine damage – was a former chairwoman of Lakas-KAMPI-CMD party before joining Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan in October 2017.
“My joining the PDP-Laban is to consolidate support for the President,” she said. “It is a matter of course as we have been talking about this for quite some time.”
DANGER
Liberal Party vice president for external affairs Erin Tañada also believes Arroyo might be en route to being prime minister.
“[Arroyo’s] election as Speaker makes the Cha-cha (Charter change) bid dangerous,” Tañada said in a gathering of cause-oriented group Tindig Pilipinas Monday night. “If they move (for Cha-cha) and they are able to secure it as a voting-jointly proposal, then they can always push that it will be a parliamentary system and then GMA is prime minister.”
Liberal Party spokesman Ibarra Gutierrez said Arroyo moved closer to her plan of extending her stay in power after she repeatedly pushed for constitutional amendments when she was president.
“She’s a threat in the sense that she’s very capable of pushing successfully the agenda of the administration with Congress, which is Charter change at the moment,” Gutierrez said.
“She has the smarts, she has the experience, and this is something that she’s wanted to have for a long time,” he added. “During her presidency, she also formed a consultative commission to propose amendments to the 1987 Constitution.”
DUTERTE AT FAULT?
Arroyo was implicated in the Hello Garci controversy, the alleged misuse of multibillion-peso Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds, the NBN-ZTE deal, and the fertilizer fund scam, among other corruption scandals.
Under the Duterte administration, Arroyo was deputy speaker until Alvarez removed her from the post in March 2017 after she voted against the death penalty bill.
Meanwhile Sen. Risa Hontiveros did not spare the Duterte administration from her criticism of the House speakership change.
“An embarrassment,” a “clear failure in leadership” and yet another reflection of the chaos and incompetence plaguing the Duterte government” was how she described the event. “It reveals the extent of the President’s weakness.”
Allies of Arroyo disrespected Duterte to realize their “own ambitions in full view of the nation,” she added.
For his part Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said “things happen” in politics.
“Siyempre this is a collegial body. Leadership is determined by numbers. He or she who has the numbers should lead the institution,” he said. (With Adrian Stewart Co/PN)
