MANILA, Philippines — Ousted speaker Pantaleon Alvarez finally acknowledged yesterday his tragic loss to now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a tumultuous change of leadership in the House of Representatives, but remained vague on his support for President Duterte.
“We cannot undo the past, but we can certainly shape our future. The House has chosen a new Speaker in the person of former president Arroyo. Alang-alang sa bayan (for the country), let us get back to work and move on,” said Alvarez, the representative of Davao del Norte.
He didn’t confirm reports, however, that he is bent on forming a faction within the ruling PDP-Laban. There were rumors that his group, along with that of former House majority leader Rodolfo Fariñas, will leave the ruling super coalition.
In a related development, Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez, chairman of the House committee on housing and urban development, and several other female committee chairpersons reassured the public that it is “business as usual” at the House.
“We have already talked to the new Speaker and she told us that we just continue with our work. So we are back to work now. Congress is back to work. She also told us to make sure there will be no delays. We’re now back to normal,” he told a news conference.
For the meantime, the status quo will remain while some realignment may be underway.
He was joined by Reps. Bernadette Dy (Bagong Henerasyon party-list), Sol Aragones (Laguna), Angelita Tan (Quezon) and Divina Grace Yu (Zamboanga del Sur), who are heads of the committee on women and gender equality, population and family relations, health and children, respectively.
The new House leadership was forced to adjourn session yesterday afternoon after tension developed when Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro spoke and sought approval of Resolution 2025 upholding Arroyo’s election as Speaker.
House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas raised a point of order and asked whether such resolution was routed through his office, he being chairman of the committee on rules, which is a requirement before it is brought to the plenary for approval.
“The deputy speaker (Castro) has introduced a resolution, as of the last session the other day (Tuesday) I am the majority leader of the House and the chairman of the committee on rules, may I know if this resolution passed the committee on rules?” he asked.
All issues that are to be taken up in the plenary should have gone through the rules panel.
House Deputy Speaker Rolando Andaya Jr., who was the presiding officer, said this already had the approval of the rules committee since they (Arroyo allies) had designated Capiz Rep. Castro as the “interim majority leader.”
But militant Rep. Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers party-list kept on shouting at the plenary hall as he repeatedly objected to the resolution.
“Not once, but twice, a cloud of doubt hangs over the legitimacy of Gloria Arroyo’s assumption to high office: as president in 2004, and now as Speaker of the House,” he said in a statement.
“House Resolution 2025, brazenly railroaded and adopted by the majority in today’s session, seeks to admit into the official record of the House the result of the voting that purportedly elected her to the post of Speaker,” the left-wing congressman said.
“It is a blatant admission on the part of the Arroyo camp that the said elections were not part of the official proceedings of the House as required by the Constitution. It is tantamount to an admission that the so-called session that elected her was a mere caucus. The railroading of this resolution is a crude attempt to cure this fatal infirmity.”