Former president and current Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday, July 23, has replaced Pantaleon Alvarez as House speaker minutes before President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The replacement made history as Macapagal-Arroyo becomes the first female House speaker, after reportedly securing more than 200 votes from the members of the lower chamber.
Macapagal-Arroyo’s oath-taking took place as Alvarez welcomed Duterte as per SONA protocol, the House speaker and the Senate president must be the ones to welcome the president.
The replacement caused delays as Duterte’s speech needed some revision including mentions of Alvarez as House speaker. Reportedly, parts of the speech that will tackle the Bangsamoro Basic Law will have to be omitted.
Earlier, a manifesto is being circulated among members of the House of Representatives to oust Alvarez to be replaced by Macapagal-Arroyo.
The manifesto seeks for support to replace Alvarez with Macapagal-Arroyo “to support the Administration with a pro-active legislative agenda that will safeguard the nation’s economic growth and secure the safety of our people.”
The manifesto also stressed that Macapagal-Arroyo’s “experience, competence, sobriety, steady and unifying leadership” will help her become an effective House speaker.
“We believe furthermore, that as many critical issues involving the future structure and framework of our Government will need to be discussed very soon, a credible and competent House leadership will be needed to guide and steer the national debate towards a resolution of these pending issues that will strengthen the Republic in the years to come,” the manifesto added.
Earlier, Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia confirmed the alleged plot to oust Alvarez. The ouster was reportedly initiated by presidential daughter and Davao City mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio over the weekend, who has yet to comment on the issue.
