SPEAKER Gloria Macapagal Arroyo basked in her successful bid to take the leadership of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, with her allies saying they had waited long enough for her to replace Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.
The former president, who represents the second district of Pampanga, thanked her supporters a day after gaining the support of 184 lawmakers across party lines to wrest the speakership.
“I am extremely honored to have been supported by my colleagues at the House of Representatives to be their new Speaker. I will endeavor to carry out the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Lower House,” Arroyo said in a statement.
Arroyo’s 184 votes was recorded officially in a session convened after President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Rep. Jose “Lito” Atienza of Buhay party-list said Alvarez’s call to postpone the 2019 polls delivered the final blow on the fragile “Super Majority” bloc.
“His calls for no-election [in 2019] did it. Look at what happened yesterday. All leaders of political parties from his so called Super Majority turned their backs on him. Hindi naman lahat ng congressman e mga pusakal (Not all lawmakers are addicted to power),” he told The Manila Times.
In addition, Alvarez took his position for granted by threatening members of the House if they didn’t toe his line, he said.
Arroyo herself got a taste of Alvarez’s “dictatorial” style when she was removed as deputy speaker for voting against the bill restoring the death penalty for drug offenses.
Alvarez also threatened to give zero budgets to lawmakers opposed to Charter change.
Just before he was ousted, Alvarez even called for the abolition of term limits of elected officials during his speech for the opening of the Third Regular Session of the 17th Congress.
“Everybody saw the dictatorial tendencies [of Alvarez], and they did not like it,” Atienza said.
House appropriations panel chairman Karlo Nograles of Davao City did not cite specifics but agreed with Atienza that the former speaker had lost the trust and confidence of lawmakers.
“This is long time coming. You know there are sentiments against the speaker. This has long been brewing. It just so happen that one sentiment [against the speaker] after the other has accumulated,” he said.
Nograles said members of the House felt Arroyo could use her vast leadership experience to wrap up the congressional agenda.
“Considering that there is limited time in our hands…we need a strong leadership,” he said.
House insiders told The Times lawmakers wanted to oust Alvarez before the Second Regular Session adjourned on March 24, but the effort was stalled because the numbers fell short.
Most of the parties that supported Alvarez’s leadership – PDP-Laban, Nacionalista Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition and the National Unity Party, switched to Arroyo, who, as president from 2001 to 2010, cultivated close relationships with House members.
Deputy Speaker Romero Quimbo of Marikina said the prime movers of the leadership change were Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. of Davao del Norte and Arroyo’s former budget chief, Rolando Andaya Jr. of Camarines Sur.
Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes welcomed the change in leadership at the House of Representatives, saying he was “happy” that Alvarez was ousted.
“She is a pro-life advocate and as president she abolished the death penalty. She is also an economist,” the prelate said on Monday.
“I am happy that Alvarez was ousted because of his extremely dangerous plans like no election in 2019 in view of federalism, which the majority of Filipinos reject and abhor, a clear violation of our Constitution,” he added.
Bastes however urged President Duterte to not push through with his plan to fully implement the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law or Train, “because many poor people are now suffering because of the Train, a situation which Duterte seems to ignore or not notice at all.”
At the Senate, Sen. Panfilo Lacson warned that Arroyo could use her new post as a springboard for prime minister under a federal form of government.
“If GMA’s (Arroyo’s) ascension to the speakership is a prelude to becoming prime minister, they (Charter change advocates) better think twice because the Senate won't allow it,” said Lacson.
Minority fractured
A united minority in the House meanwhile remained elusive even with the ouster of Alvarez.
The faction led by Alvarez and House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas is contemplating leading a minority bloc, according to opposition lawmakers Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list and Edgar Erice of Caloocan City, a Liberal Party official.
“Who will compose the minority bloc is still unclear. The Fariñas group [supportive of Alvarez] is still about 100—a significant number for a minority bloc. That’s a big group. But then again, the new majority bloc, for sure, will try to decimate the minority to limit the challenge in policies. Those in the group can still jump ship to the new majority [led by Arroyo],” Tinio told The Manila Times.
“As for us in the Makabayan bloc, our position is clear. We will be in the opposition, whether as part of minority bloc or an independent minority since we have long been opposed to Arroyo’s policies,” Tinio added.
Makabayan is composed of seven party-list lawmakers from Bayan Muna, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Gabriela, Kabataan and Anakpawis.
Twelve lawmakers who abstained from voting for the speakership did so to strengthen the minority, according to the Liberal Party.
“The 12 congressmen who abstained from the power play at the House of Representatives are all Liberal Party members. The decision to abstain was a decision to strengthen the ranks of the minority, whose voice is essential in a strong, working democracy,” the erstwhile-ruling party said in a statement.
“Given yesterday’s attention-grabbing show, people are asking: Can we trust both the Senate and the House to represent the people’s will, especially in the expected push for Charter change?” it added.
WITH REPORTS FROM CATHERINE MODESTO AND REINA C. TOLENTINO