Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21) – House Speaker Martin Romualdez said the House of Representatives should focus on addressing urgent legislation rather than engage in politicking, after former president and Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo denied reports linking her to a supposed leadership coup in the lower chamber.
“There is still much work to do, so occasional moves to destabilize the House should be nipped in the bud,” Romualdez said Sunday.
“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.
During the session on May 17, lawmakers suddenly elected Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. as the new Senior Deputy Speaker, replacing Arroyo. She was demoted to Deputy Speaker.
On May 19, Arroyo denied reports claiming that she had been plotting a coup against Romualdez, but she admitted that some of her actions “may have been misconstrued,” citing her trip to Korea with a delegation of congressmen for some official meetings.
READ: Arroyo denies coup plot vs. Speaker Romualdez
Arroyo bared that she was vying for the speakership when Marcos won the presidency, but she conceded when she realized that the president was “most comfortable” with his first cousin Romualdez as speaker.
Amid the speakership row and rumored coup, Romualdez said that the lower chamber would focus on addressing concerns such as “low power supply, high electricity rates, telco issues and unstable commodity prices.”
“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 said.
“The Uniteam, which the House Leadership has always been a part of, must continue to focus on finding immediate solutions to problems of ordinary Filipinos,” he added.
Romualdez and Arroyo — president and president emeritus of the Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats party, respectively — both backed the UniTeam tandem of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2022 elections.
Marcos told reporters last Friday not to read too much into Arroyo’s demotion and the rumors of a coup against his cousin.
He attributed it to “run-of-the-mill” reorganization in the lower chamber and said it was Romualdez’s prerogative “as to how he feels the House should be organized.”
READ: Marcos on Rep. Arroyo’s demotion: Don’t read too much into it
