SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Martin Romualdez on Sunday, May 21, broke his silence for the first time since the squabble at the House of Representatives unfolded, stripping former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of her senior deputy speakership title.
“There is still much work to do, so occasional moves to destabilize the House should be nipped in the bud,” Romualdez said in a statement.
“The House cannot be distracted from finding legislative solutions to issues that affect the lives of ordinary Filipinos. Rather than engaging in politicking, I would rather that we, in the House of Representatives, remain focused on more urgent matters,” he added.
Arroyo’s demotion ignited rumors of a divided chamber, and gossip that it was meant to stop any threat to Romualdez’s leadership. Arroyo dispelled rumors she was plotting a coup to steal the chamber’s top post, saying that “being speaker once more is no longer part of my political objectives.”
Romualdez said the “House of the People is in order.”
“This same level of order is what allowed us to approve on third and final reading at least 29 of the 42 bills that comprise the legislative agenda of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.,” he added.
The House Speaker said that the “Uniteam” – the alliance that comprises the incumbent administration – “must continue to focus on finding immediate solutions to problems of ordinary Filipinos.”
“The House chooses to focus on addressing low power supply, high electricity rates, telco issues and unstable commodity prices, instead of political destabilization,” Romualdez said.
Marcos is still quiet on the issue. During an event in Pampanga on Friday, May 19, Marcos quipped after he was introduced by Romualdez: “Thank you very much to our Speaker of the House of Representatives. I won’t make any comments about the speakership as of yet.”
After the deputy speakership’s shakeup, Vice President Sara Duterte resigned from her political party Lakas-CMD, the party that served as her vehicle to the vice presidency. In her resignation, Duterte decried “political toxicity” and “political power play” in the House.
Lakas-CMD is the dominant party in the House with 71 members. Romualdez is party president, while Arroyo is chairperson emeritus. The two have been longtime allies who have fostered a mentor-mentee relationship.
Arroyo is a crucial ally of Duterte, and played a pivotal role in her vice presidential bid. According to political sources privy to negotiations then, Arroyo herself reached out to old allies and convinced them to back both Duterte and Marcos in 2022.
This ‘shall pass’
In a statement on Sunday, Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th District Representative Ralph Recto said that this “‘political tampuhan (misunderstanding)’ shall pass.”
“The fog of miscommunication will soon clear, the vow of cooperation will be renewed and attempts to drive a wedge between them shall have failed,” he added.
According to Recto, the two House leaders “pooling their expertise and experience in providing valuable counsel to the leader of the land” were instrumental in the “House’s prodigious output of bills, and the vigilant exercise of its oversight powers.”
“The uninformed will say that unity has cracked. Nothing is farther from the truth. No wound needs healing as none was inflicted,” he said. – Rappler.com
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