How Arroyo always rises to the top

ABS-CBN.com

Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has done it again, said Raïssa Robles. The 71-year-old congresswoman was elected speaker of the House last week, ousting Pantaleon “Panty” Alvarez, after launching a surprise lastminute bid. The shock leadership challenge “flabbergasted the nation” but was apparently backed by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte. Arroyo is expected to help ensure passage of constitutional changes that would grant President Duterte sweeping new powers. Panty’s ouster is only the latest display of Arroyo’s ruthlessness. Up against Joseph Estrada in

the 1998 presidential race, Arroyo knew she could not beat his charisma, so she ran as vice president and then secretly conspired to undermine his administration. It worked, and she became president in 2001. The following year, she promised the divided country that she would not run for the office, but soon broke that promise. Arroyo stayed in power for nearly a decade before being jailed for five years on corruption charges—she was ultimately acquitted by the Supreme Court. A canny political player, Arroyo may be planning to outmaneuver Sara and position herself as Rodrigo Duterte’s successor. “May the best woman win.”