Arroyo to push Duterte legislative agenda at House
MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga) on Tuesday vowed to carry out the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte as she takes over the leadership at the House of Representatives.
"I am extremely honored to have been supported by my colleagues at the House of Representatives to be their new speaker," Arroyo said in a statement released Tuesday.
Arroyo, a member of the House majority and of the ruling PDP-Laban party, was removed as deputy speaker for Central Luzon in May 2017 after voting against a proposal to revive the death penalty. The death penalty was not among the priority measures that Duterte mentioned in his SONA on Monday.
The president instead urged Congress to focus on the following:
- Charter change and a shift to federalism
- A ban on contractualization
- The second package of the government's tax reform program
- Rice tarrification
- National Land Use Policy bill
- Creation of a Department of Disaster Management
- Coconut Levy Trust Fund
- Universal healthcare
READ: As chaos erupts in House, unity blooms among Duterte's opponents
Leadership change
The former president officially took the position Monday evening following the removal of Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte).
In a caucus after President Rodrigo Duterte's third State of the Nation Address, members of the House elected Arroyo as their leader by a vote of 184 and 12 abstentions.
Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro (Capiz) noted that rumors of Alvarez's ouster started more than a year ago but there was no tangible evidence that there was a move to remove one of Duterte's closest allies.
In a television interview, Castro said that Arroyo never mentioned anything about her interest in being House speaker.
"In fact, she told me a few months ago that she didn't want the position," Castro told ANC's "Headstart".
The deputy speaker narrated how Majority Leader Rudy Fariñas (Ilocos Norte) called for an all-member caucus on Monday to discuss what position they would take on the possible change in leadership.
Asked whether he thinks that Alvarez and Fariñas were caught flat-footed, Castro said they may have tred to gather House members' support for Alvarez but failed.
According to Castro, only a handful of lawmakers attended the caucus Monday morning but political parties and members of the majority were already discussing whether to support Arroyo or not.
After the session was abruptly adjourned, Arroyo allies passed around a manifesto calling for a change in House leadership.
"I could only assume that perhaps, Alvarez' camp knew that if they did not adjourn immediately after, we will take over," Castro said.
The leadership standoff between Alvarez and Arroyo delayed Duterte's SONA for more than an hour.
Alvarez still sat as House speaker while Duterte delivered his speech but Arroyo took her oath of office hours after the president left the session hall. — with a report from Paolo Romero
- Latest
- Trending
