LAWMAKERS are puzzled by Vice President Sara Duterte’s reaction to the demotion of former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from Senior Deputy Speaker to Deputy Speaker.
A lawmaker, who spoke in anonymity, also noted that
this is not the first time VP Duterte has made a move that essentially shows
her support for Arroyo. “Anong meron kay GMA at ginagawa yan ni VP?” the solon
asked.
Another lawmaker thinks that this probably has
something to do with the 2028 presidential elections.
While another solon thinks that it has something to
do with the help provided by Arroyo to make former President Rodrigo Duterte
win in the 2016 presidential race. Arroyo was released from detention after
President Duterte took over Malacañang.
The first time that VP Duterte made a favorable
move for Arroyo was when she helped unseat then-Speaker and Davao del Norte
Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, who was replaced by Arroyo in 2018.
Alvarez was among the few individuals who stood by
former President Duterte, even during the time when he was still trailing in
the election surveys.
Arroyo’s demotion was linked to her alleged plan to
replace Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Arroyo has denied the rumors.
Following Arroyo’s demotion, VP Duterte resigned from the Lakas-Christian
Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the party that provided the way so she could run
for vice president in the 2022 elections.
In one event, Duterte expressed her love and
respect for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. but said that she refused to mention
his middle initial. “Hindi ko na banggitin ang middle initial niya… Mahal ko si
apo BBM,” VP Duterte said.
Marcos’ middle name is Romualdez. He and Speaker
Romualdez are cousins. Romualdez did not issue any statement on the matter
earning praise from his colleagues.
In a statement, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr.
lauded Romualdez for taking the ‘moral high road’ and expressed his hope that
the ‘rift’ will be mended soon. Barzaga also mentioned the hard work Romualdez
did for VP Duterte during the campaign.
But VP Duterte disagreed with Barzaga’s statement
that Romualdez has something to do with her decision to run for the vice
presidency. “Speaker Martin Romualdez had absolutely nothing to do with my
decision to run for Vice President,” said VP Duterte in a statement. “To say
that he “tremendously helped in pushing for” my Vice Presidential bid is
acutely inaccurate — an insult to thousands of groups and individuals who
incessantly implored me to reconsider an earlier decision not to join national
politics.”
Romualdez was one of the two campaign managers of
VP Duterte during the recent elections.
After her victory, VP Duterte acknowledged the
efforts of Romualdez. “I like to personally thank publicly thank Cong. Martin
Romualdez for taking me in Lakas-CMD and accepting the challenge to be one of
my two campaign managers during the last election…. You did very well…. 32.2
million votes you did it all,” said Duterte in a speech during the oath-taking
ceremony of Romualdez at the RTR Gymnasium in Tacloban City on June 15, 2022.
During the last half of President Duterte’s term,
VP Duterte was also invoked in the speakership race. VP Duterte, who was then
the mayor of Davao City, and her brother Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte met
Romualdez, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Lord Allan Velasco all vying for the
speakership.
In the end, Romualdez accepted the position of
House Majority Leader for the entire term while Cayetano and Velasco agreed to
a term-sharing agreement for the speakership. (Billy Begas /
Politics.com)
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