An opposition lawmaker on Wednesday, July 25, said that the ouster of Pantaleon Alvarez as House speaker underscored the political power of Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said it was the Davao City mayor who managed to convince majority of the House of Representatives to replace Alvarez with former president and Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“Alam ng lahat si Mayor ang tumatawag sa mga kongresista para suportahan si Speaker Arroyo. Hindi siya pangulo. Anak siya ng pangulo. Pinakita niya ang poder at impluwensiya niya sa kongreso,” Tinio said.
Earlier, Alvarez allegedly said Duterte-Carpio is a member of the opposition for forming a regional party which did not include him and his allies.
In response, Duterte-Carpio publicly dared Alvarez on Twitter to step down from his post as House speaker.
“I thought you had backed down? But when I woke up today, why are you still the House Speaker? Step down!,” Mayor Duterte said.
“The Philippines will be a better country if he is not Speaker. PRD will be a stronger President without Alvarez,” she said.
Many sources has said that it was indeed Duterte-Carpio who organized the ouster and said that calls were made the night before the State of the Nation Address (SONA) regarding the matter.
Duterte-Carpio, however, has declined giving a comment about the issue but recognized Macapagal-Arroyo for her strong leadership skills.
