Gloria Arroyo: ‘I’m Deputy Speaker’

Former President and now Pampanga 2nd Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Wednesday that she is set to be named Deputy House Speaker of the 17th Congress.

Arroyo made the announcement at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City, where she was detained for four years on plunder charges.

The former president went back to the government-owned hospital to donate dialysis machines.

Asked which committee she will handle as member of the supermajority in the House of Representatives, Arroyo replied: "I'm Deputy Speaker."

Arroyo said she only received word of the deputy speakership during their lunch meeting with congressmen of the “Central Luzon bloc” led by Bulacan 4th District Rep. Linabelle Villarica.

“I don’t know when they submitted the nomination, or if they did, but we had a lunch meeting of the Central Luzon bloc two days ago and that was taken up there,” she said.

Arroyo mentioned that it was Villarica who nominated her for the post which she did not hesitate to accept.

“We had our lunch together and then our president, Linabelle Villarica she said that well, ‘to our fellow members, we would like to nominate our former president to be our representative as Deputy Speaker’ so I clapped and said ‘okay, okay, approve, approve’ that’s all,” Arroyo said.

She added she has yet to know if the nomination is final, but said she presumes “nobody would object.”

Arroyo is set to be among the seven new Deputy Speakers on the House when Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said that they would increase the current five to at least 12.

Fariñas told reporters last August 4 that they will have one Deputy Speaker from each of the federal-like states that will be formed through the existing regions, testing the waters before the government shifts to a federal system.

Meanwhile, Arroyo did not specify if her deputy speakership had a special function aside from House rules such as automatic membership in every House committee, including the Committee on Rules.

“A Deputy Speaker is automatic a member of every committee, that’s one, the other is we are members on the Committee on Rules which determines, among other things, the agenda for plenary session. Those would be the important functions,” Arroyo said.

Arroyo was released from the VMMC last July 21, days after the Supreme Court dismissed plunder charges against her based on the alleged misuse of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office's P366-million intelligence funds.

Support for Duterte is ‘strategic direction

Meanwhile, Arroyo said she filed for a resolution convening Congress into a constituent assembly in support for President Rodrigo Duterte’s push for federalism.

She added there is still a lot of work to do on her part after first attending Congress since her incarceration.

“What we see as our work is to help in the legislative agenda of the administration of President Duterte. There’s a lot of work to be done and we’re waiting for the lawmakers to start deliberations,” Arroyo said.

Arroyo declined to comment on other issues such as the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos, the revival of the death penalty, and the rise in extra-judicial killings.

She instead gave a general answer to reporters across all issues that her support to Duterte is a “strategic direction.”

“Rather than I would answer you issue by issue, let me just say that as a strategic direction, I believe that we should the administration sa initiatives. That would be my answer on anything that you would ask me,” Arroyo said.

“I am not the Chief Executive anymore. It is not for me to dictate national policy. Even if you ask me all specific questions, I will [give] the same general answer,” she added.

"Huge black mark"

Members of the Makabayan bloc, meanwhile, said Arroyo as deputy speaker would stain the reputation of the House leadership.

“It will be huge black mark against the House. Para sa atin napakalinaw na kinasuhan siya ng plunder,” said ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate pointed out that cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances during Arroyo’s term have yet to be resolved.

“Kaya tuloy-tuloy yung state of impunity dahil ‘yung mga nagakasala nung panahon na yun ay hindi pa nabibigyan ng hustisya,” he said. —with Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/ALG/NB/KBK, GMA News