By NITZ ARANCON and JOEY NACALABAN
Correspondents .
FORMER president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stole the show at the Batasan Pambansa as she took her oath as House Speaker just before President Duterte delivered his third state-of-the-nation address yesterday afternoon. The former president is the first female to do so.
But it was not Arroyo, now a Pampanga congresswoman, but the man he moved to oust, Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte who welcomed and sat with the President along with Senate President Vicente Sotto III. There appeared to be a standoff even as serious questions were raised about the validity of Arroyo’s move.
Before Duterte came and was welcomed by Alvarez, Arroyo took over the rostrum.
The stateun Philippine News Agency said Duterte’s allies have claimed that the ouster move had the support of the President’s daughter Davao Mayor Sara Carpio who earlier had a spat with Alvarez.
The Sona was delayed as a result. It was supposed to start at 4 pm.
The Senate has already ratified its own version of the BOL.
Rep. Rolando Uy of Cagayan de Oro’s 1st District said Arroyo took her oath after a manifesto of support in her favor circulated in the House of Representatives.
Reads part of the manifesto: “We, the elected members of the House of Representatives of the 17th Congress, in the interest of providing a more dynamic legislature attuned with the times and the needs of the people, have formed a coalition, to endorse and support the election of our colleague, Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, as Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Uy said he and the other congressmen from the city and Misamis Oriental stood for the retention of Alvarez.
Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr. of the city’s 2nd District said he, Reps. Peter Unabia and Juliette Uy of Misamis Oriental, and Rolando Uy of the city’s 1st District did not participate because they wanted Alvarez to stay as speaker because he is from Mindanao.
Rodriguez said it did not have the “blessings” of Duterte, and Arroyo was the choice of congressmen who are mostly from Luzon.
The House dynamics also resulted in the Lower House abruptly adjourning its session without ratifying the bicameral conference committee report on the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
Meanwhile, Malacañang described the failure of the House to ratify the BOL as a “temporary setback.”
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Palace found it “unfortunate” but remained confident that Duterte would sign it once it is finally ratified by the House.
“We find it unfortunate that the Bangsamoro Organic Law was not ratified before the adjournment of today’s session of the House of Representatives,” Roque said in a press statement.
The Bangsamoro Organic Law is one of Duterte’s priority measures, which he was supposed to sign before he delivered his third Sona.
The Bangsamoro Organic Law seeks to establish a new Bangsamoro political entity with more autonomy. (with reports from pna)
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