Arroyo new House speaker
MANILA — Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga) yesterday took her oath as the House of Representatives' new speaker, replacing Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte) during a crucial time in government efforts to amend the Constitution.
Talk about the ouster of Alvarez had been rife in recent months, most especially after his public rift with the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who has formed a regional party in Mindanao.
The annual State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte has been delayed by more than an hour following a leadership standoff in the House of Representatives.
Duterte met with Alvarez, Senate President Tito Sotto and other officials at the Speaker's lounge before his speech. It was not immediately known if Alvarez had been informed about the alleged vote by several congressmen to replace him as speaker, ABSCBN News reported.
According to multiple media reports, the plan to oust Alvarez and install Arroyo was finalized over the weekend, with the surrogates of the president's daughter working for her.
The session hall of the House of Representatives was tense yesterday as lawmakers from both camps worked to secure the needed 147 votes to secure the position for Alvarez or unseat him and elect Arroyo.
The session was abruptly adjourned a few minutes after noon on Monday following an hour of talks among lawmakers. This adjournment basically allowed Alvarez to dodge a bullet but only for a few minutes.
After the adjournment, a manifesto of support, reportedly signed by at least 180 lawmakers, for Arroyo's election as House speaker circulated in the plenary.
At one point, Rep. Rolando Andaya (Camarines Sur), who was the Budget secretary of Arroyo, was speaking and questioning the decision of the leadership to abrupty adjourn when the audio feed of the proceedings was cut.
According to GMA7 News, Arroyo took her oath before Ang Kabuhayan partylist Representative Dennis Laogan, the youngest member of the House. She also took the Speaker's seat although none of the proceedings could be heard as the House audio system had apparently been turned off.
This did not settle the leadership issue, and talks that lasted for more than an hour ensued, with reports saying that there were negotiations about who should sit to the president's left, the speaker's chair, during Duterte's SONA
Arroyo's assumption of the leadership of the House of Representatives however may have been unofficial, political analysts said yesterday, in a report of ABS-CBN News.
But the House mace, which signifies that the lower chamber is in session, was not at the plenary hall when Arroyo took her oath as speaker, noted Prof. Jean Encinas-Franco of the University of the Philippines (UP). The incident may therefore be deemed as "an unofficial gathering of congressmen," added UP's Prof. Ranjit Rye.