Mikey eyed as caretaker

MANILA, Philippines - House Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada said yesterday he would propose that Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo be named caretaker of Pampanga’s second district while former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is under arrest and cannot attend to her congressional duties.

Tañada emphasized that the House of Representatives cannot expel the former president prior to her conviction on the charges levied against her.

“Mikey is the former representative of that district. He is the logical choice for caretaker,” he said. Like his mother, Mikey is a member of the House, representing security guards and tricycle drivers grouped under the party-list organization Ang Galing Pinoy.

Mikey left for the United States before his mother was arrested last Friday. He himself is facing charges for alleged tax evasion.  

“The filing of an electoral sabotage case against her cannot be the basis to expel her. She is presumed innocent until proven guilty or until she pleads guilty to the crime,” he said.

He said a conviction would be the proper basis for the House to expel an erring member.

Tañada was commenting on the statements of certain congressmen urging the House to remove Mrs. Arroyo from its roster of members.

He recalled that in the past, the chamber delisted erring members only after the courts convicted them.

A recent case involved former Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, who was removed from the House roster after a Hong Kong court convicted him of drug trafficking. He is now serving his sentence in a Hong Kong jail.

Former Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romeo Jalosjos was removed as a House member following his conviction for raping a minor. Tañada also said the House cannot deprive Mrs. Arroyo of her membership in its committees.

“We in the majority have no control over her committee membership. Whether she remains a member of certain committees or not while she is on trial is the call of the minority, to which she belongs,” he said.