GLORIA IN, ALVAREZ OUT

PAMPANGA Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led a last- minute blitzkrieg to wrest the speakership of the House of Representatives from Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte, in a power struggle that overshadowed the State of the Nation Address ( SONA) on Monday.

The former president took her oath surrounded by long-time political allies, who reconvened the House of Representatives a few hours after Alvarez adjourned the session before noon.

But Arroyo was unable to join President Rodrigo Duterte and Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd on the rostrum for the joint session of Congress.

It was Alvarez who welcomed Duterte to the Batasang Pambansa complex and brought the President to a holding room with other House and Senate leaders, as pro-Arroyo lawmakers took over the session hall.

Arroyo had to shout directives from the rostrum as the hall’s microphones were suddenly cut off. After taking her oath, Arroyo proceeded to the holding room to meet the President.

The SONA, which was to be delivered at 4 p.m., was delayed by about an hour as Duterte talked to Alvarez and Arroyo separately, Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go told reporters.

In the end, Alvarez did not concede his post and opened the joint session with Sotto. Arroyo was not seen coming back to the session hall.

The President did not address the leadership row in his speech that begun at past 5 p.m.

Wikipedia pages declared Arroyo, also a former Cabinet secretary, senator speaker of the House, and third in the line of succession to the presidency that she held from 2001 to 2010.

The President’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who is at odds with Alvarez over local politics, emerged as a new power broker, having called up lawmakers to marshal support for Arroyo ahead of the SONA, sources told TheManilaTimes.

Manifesto for Arroyo

It all started when Rep. Rolando Andaya of Camarines Sur, Arroyo’s budget secretary from 2006 to 2010, approached one of the microphones in the session hall at about 3 p.m. to reveal that at least 161 House members had met to make an urgent decision.

Andaya’s microphone, however, was abruptly turned off, and journalists, who were cordoned off the session hall, were unable to hear the proceedings.

Rep. Karlo Nograles of Davao City, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, proceeded to call the roll, while Rep. Doy Leachon of Oriental Mindoro tallied the votes.

After the vote, Arroyo, who was in a huddle with lawmakers, climbed the rostrum with Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro of Capiz.

Arroyo took her oath before Rep. Dennis Laogan of Ang Kabuhayan party-list, the youngest member of the House at 27 years old.

Arroyo’s 161 votes was more than enough to unseat Alvarez, who can be

ousted by 147 votes or a simple majority of 292 House members.

In a surprising turn of events, House members reconvened for a third time after the SONA to conduct another round of voting for the speakership.

Arroyo got 184 votes. Twelve lawmakers abstained.

Manifesto for Arroyo

Prior to the show-stopping move, a number of lawmakers from the majority coalition signed a manifesto of support for Arroyo.

“We, the elected members of the House of Representatives of the 17th Congress, in the interest of providing a more dynamic legislature attuned with the times and the needs o the people, have formed a coalition, to endorse and support the election of our colleague, Representative Gloria Arroyo, as Speaker of the House of Representatives,” the manifesto read.

Arroyo’s supporters argued that the Duterte administration had reached a point wherein there was a need for a proactive legislature that would safeguard economic growth, secure the safety of the people, and provide a credible and competent House leadership to steer debate on pressing national issues.

Among the signatories were House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez of Quezon and Representatives Jose Atienza of Buhay party-list, Luis Campos of Makati, Orestes Salon of Agri party-list, Arlene Arcillas of Laguna, and Juliet Cortuna of A-Teachers party-list.

LP abstains

Deputy Speaker Romero Quimbo disclosed that 14 members of the opposition, of which 12 were from the erstwhile ruling Liberal Party (LP), abstained from the vote.

The two non-LP lawmakers who abstained were Representatives Tom Villarin of Akbayan party-list and Gary Alejano of Magdalo party-list.

“There is a challenge of the leadership, and we [in LP] agreed to put it to a vote. But we did not take sides because we want to be a part of the minority. Under House rules, you automatically become a part of the minority if you don’t vote for the winning speaker,” Quimbo told reporters.

Under Alvarez, some LP members aligned with the majority. Other political parties under the Alvarez-led coalition were Castro’s National Unity Party, the Nacionalista Party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition and President Duterte’s PDP-Laban.

On Monday afternoon, Arroyo had support across party lines, except for the LP members who abstained.

Quimbo stressed that while Arroyo’s

election as speaker was unprecedented as the House was no longer in session and all microphones were turned off, it was not necessarily futile.

“Will it be questioned? Probably. Is it invalid? That is up for the courts to decide. It was different. It was not regular. But today clearly showed that she (Arroyo) had the majority of support. The most basic rule here [in Congress] is that majority always rules,” said Quimbo, who headed the Home Development Mutual Fund during the Arroyo administration from 2002 to 2008.

Rep. Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis party-list said the House leadership dispute was mere politics that would not lead to genuine change for the poor.

“This rehabilitation and return to power of Arroyo is a clear political accommodation of the Duterte administration, amid her notorious record against human rights, and graft and corruption. It is clear that the poor cannot expect a change for the better under the Duterte administration,” Casilao said in a statement.

Messed with the wrong girl

Alvarez himself was Arroyo’s transportation secretary when she was swept to power by the EDSA 2 uprising in 2001. But he was unable to get congressional Manila Airport Terminal 3 contract that was later voided by the Supreme Court.

The two had a falling out last year when Arroyo was removed as deputy speaker for voting against a bill re-imposing the death penalty on drug-related crimes.

Alvarez also had a falling out with a former ally, Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr., following a sensational rift between their girlfriends.

Asked whether Alvarez’s rough leadership style cost him the speakership, Quimbo said: “It is hard to judge the personality of a person. To each his own. Every speaker has a quality that people won’t like. It just so happened that there were more people who did not like him.”

- sibility when he had a run-in with the President’s feisty daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, in February.

account on Instagram, Sara accused Alvarez of betraying her father.

“Kung asshole kasa Congress (If you are an asshole in Congress), don’t bring that to Davao, leave it in Manila. Somebody should tell the President what you are doing. How dare you call me part of the opposition. Kapal ng mukha mo (What gall). You messed with the wrong girl,” she added.