MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has dismissed as “run of the mill” the House of Representatives’ sudden demotion of former senior deputy speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to deputy speaker.
“If you’re in government long enough, you have seen many of these. In my time as congressman, I had two terms as congressman, we had that thrice and this is just part of reorganization,” Marcos said yesterday in Ilocos Norte.
“I really see it as just a run of the mill that comes once in a while, run of the mill that they do in the House,” he added.
Arroyo was senator and vice president before she became president in 2001.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives removed Arroyo as senior deputy speaker and replaced her with her provincemate, Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr.
There were speculations that the 76-year-old Arroyo was demoted for allegedly planning to oust Speaker Martin Romualdez, an accusation the former chief executive has denied.
Marcos said it is the prerogative of the Speaker to reorganize the House whatever way he wishes.
“I don’t think any of us knows what it all means, where the chips will fall after all of this reorganization. I think we should also be careful to not read too much into it,” Marcos said.
Earlier in the day, Marcos declined to comment on the matter. “I won’t make any comments about the speakership as of yet,” Marcos said after he was introduced by Romualdez, his maternal cousin, at a gathering of the League of Provinces of the Philippines at the Royce Hotel in Clark Freeport, Pampanga yesterday.
Arroyo and Romualdez were regular travel companions of Marcos in his official foreign trips.
In his birthday greeting to Arroyo last April 5, Marcos described the former leader’s guidance as “indispensable.”
“Your guidance has been indispensable, and we are so grateful for your friendship and support,” Marcos said in a Facebook post.
Marcos had also credited Arroyo for the administration’s responses to “very important issues.”
He also referred to Arroyo as his “secret weapon” during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok, Thailand in November last year, noting that the former president is a friend of some of the world leaders who attended the meeting.
“I say secret weapon because I’m the newbie here, I’m the new leader. So when we entered the meeting, when they saw GMA, ‘this is my old friend, good friend.’ The conversation became easy,” Marcos said during a meeting with the Filipino community in Thailand, referring to Arroyo by her initials.
Arroyo endorsed Marcos and his then running mate Vice President Sara Duterte in the May 2022 elections.
In a statement, Nacionalista Party spokesperson and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar said they continue to support the Speaker.
“The Nacionalista Party expresses its unequivocal support to the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez … as we remain fully committed to the administration of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to its vision of united and prosperous nation,” Villar added.
National Unity Party chair Ronaldo Puno reiterated the party’s “commitment to the supermajority coalition formed” by Romualdez at the House to help the Marcos administration “achieve his vision of peace and prosperity for the nation.”
“We are witness on how Speaker Romualdez has steered the House in legislating key reform measures included in the 8-Point Socio-Economic Agenda of the Marcos administration,” he said. — Sheila Crisostomo, Cecille Suerte Felipe