Reasons why GMA replaced Alvarez

Batas Mauricio .

TO the many who are asking what happened and why former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo has suddenly become the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, we can cite many possible reasons for this amazing development.

First, it should be clear that Davao del Norte Representative and former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez failed to discharge faithfully his duties and responsibilities to his fellow representatives. This is shown by the huge anger entertained against him by lawmakers who have earlier chosen him as their leader.

The truth is that, Gloria can be considered as one of the angry lawmakers against Alvarez, after Alvarez ousted Gloria as a deputy speaker, on account of Gloria’s refusal to support the revival of the death penalty. Then, Alvarez also made a lot of rabid enemies among the congressmen whom he deprived of infrastructure funding, just because they did not support him on various issues.

The partymates of Alvarez in the PDP-Laban (the political party that launched the candidacy of President Duterte in 2016) are vociferously mad at him. Many of them repeatedly criticized, in public yet, his moves as a party leader, to the extent of his being declared as a “persona non grata” in his own party, allegedly because he accepted as party members various personalities who did not even undergo prior screening as party rules required.

Alvarez also crossed swords with the Court of Appeals, which he threatened to abolish because of his disagreement with some of its decisions, especially on the case of the so-called “Ilocos 6”.

The House ordered the detention of six topanking officials of the Ilocos Norte government, under Gov. Imee Marcos, because they allegedly refused to answer questions on corruption issues in the province. The Court of Appeals stayed that detention order.

And what was perhaps the nail that sealed Alvarez’s fate as the fallen leader of the House was the perception and feeling of his fellow lawmakers that he ruled like a king when he was Speaker. As House Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro told the media, Alvarez made no effort at all to even just inquire on what the congressmen needed in their districts, in the entire time he was their leader.

On the other hand, again according to Deputy Speaker Castro, Arroyo managed to work out fruitful relationships with her fellow lawmakers. She was considerate not only of the congressmen’s interest, but even with the welfare of their staff and employees. In short, Arroyo was vastly different from Alvarez personality wise, even if Alvarez was a former Transportation Secretary of Arroyo.

What then should our countrymen expect from a “Speaker Gloria Arroyo”? I am asking this because, even now, we can see the serious and grave opposition from many personalities and groups to her installation as the new leader of the Lower House. Relentless criticisms are now being hurled against her, and the most biting ones are coming from Sen. Grace Poe, who is resurrecting corruption charges against Gloria.

If my memory serves me right, Arroyo was also the subject of a lot of criticisms when she was still in Malacanang. But she simply shrugged her shoulders off on these criticisms, endeavoring to finish her term completely. I think the same thing is going to happen now that she is the Speaker. She will similarly ignore the opposition against her, and will pursue her role as the leader of the House no matter what.

What was the intention of Arroyo and her supporters in her installation as Speaker? Many are of the view that she would use this present position as a vehicle to return to Malacanang. In my perception, however, this new position of Arroyo was given to her by God no less, as one final opportunity to truly serve the interest of the Filipino people, without any taint of corruption or wrongdoing, as what have been thrown against her before.