Congress reorganization effects

The recent replacement of Alvarez by Arroyo as House Speaker was the big story in the latest SONA of President Duterte. The surrounding narrative of Sarah Duterte and the Marcoses with a hundred plus other congressmen unseating Alvarez just before or after the SONA was political drama. That the president was aware or unaware of the plot and had to wait for more than an hour to deliver his speech is pregnant with meanings and implications. It even delayed the signing of the “BBL or BOL” law which will give autonomy to our Muslim Mindanao brothers, which would have made “pogi points” for the president at the day of the SONA.

Alvarez has been perceived as abrasive and brusque in dealing with congressmen and he certainly made enemies of some of them, particularly the Floriendos and the Marcoses. He was particularly harsh on the opposition and partylist congressman in dispensing the benefits and largesse as House Speaker. These were public knowledge and Malacañang knew about them but did not really know that it was going to happen that soon or did not want to take sides. Politics is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation” but it still does not speak well of Malacañang’s control of its allies.

Alvarez and his main allies like Farinas and Garcia have probably less than 40 congressmen on their side, judging from the heated arguments during the motions for the reorganization and final voting. Then there are the usual shifting loyalties of most our politicians, so we can be sure of the diminished power, status, and influence of the Alvarez group. It may even have impaired Alvarez’s chances of getting reelected as congressman in his district.

To Arroyo, maybe more influence and power but not really much as it is a fragile alliance and her record as president and public perception will weigh her down. There is also the coming election in just over a year and public acceptance and the new congressmen will have to consider who will be the speaker that will be good for them. In the meantime, Arroyo can bask in her partial redemption as president, even at the risk of reviving the corruption issues and other failures of her administration.

To the aware and informed public, the power grab is politics at play with the politicians protecting and enlarging their self-interests. The event is not really palatable to them but will accept it if it improves governance and public services. People in general are elated when powerful and unpopular politicians are cut down to size and their egos deflated. The event also further lowered the respect of the people for politicians and congressmen in particular, since it means change in the government is not really happening. It is still the usual politics and it is just a case of musical chairs for the elite politicians. This will have implications for the civil society and the electorate in the coming elections, and for the current administration’s success or failure.

For the current elected government officials and appointed bureaucrats, this is just a reminder of the volatility and temporal nature of their positions of power. For many reasons, the president will not stay in power longer than his term and had even hinted at leaving earlier. So, to all of those under his shaded influence and protection it is time to step out in the sun and bloom or to wilt.

I wrote this column just after the Arroyo takeover from Alvarez and the reactions in the main and social media since then supported a number of my contentions.

‘It is still the usual politics and it is just a case of musical chairs

for the elite politicians.’