By Ben Rosario
President Rodrigo Duterte’s revelation that daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, orchestrated the ouster of former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez no longer sent shockwaves through the House of Representatives because the information has been an open secret in the chamber.
Rep. Rodel Batocabe
(Ako Bicol Partylist via Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) “There is nothing to be surprised about the President’s statement as we knew all along that the president’s daughter is never in good terms with the former speaker,” said Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, head of the Party-list Coalition. He added: “The president is just telling the truth as it is.” However, what remains on debate among lawmakers is whether or not Duterte had known what his daughter has been cooking. “If the president claimed he didn’t have an inkling that Sara will do it , then that would be surprising, if not truly incredible,” said a senior administration congressman who requested anonymity. The lawmaker said nearly all House members who backed Alvarez’s removal and his eventual replacement by former president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were convinced that the president no longer objected when Sara carried out the plan to oust Alvarez. Mayor Duterte received strong backing from Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo pursuing the House leadership coup on the day Duterte was scheduled to deliver his third State of the Nation Address in July. 1Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero was among the lawmakers who admitted supporting the oust Alvarez plot. Romero had been put in charge of convincing party-list solons to shift loyalty from Alvarez to Arroyo. The plan was put in play immediately after Arroyo finally agreed to be elected speaker. “The former president had rejected the speakership a number of times but other candidates to the post were not expected to convince the majority to support the coup,” the source said. The ouster move was carried out with great care and secrecy that Alvarez and his group did not know what hit them when the pro-Arroyo majority was already organized. This happened on the eve of the SONA, giving the former speaker little time to avert his removal, it was noted.
Rep. Rodel Batocabe(Ako Bicol Partylist via Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) “There is nothing to be surprised about the President’s statement as we knew all along that the president’s daughter is never in good terms with the former speaker,” said Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, head of the Party-list Coalition. He added: “The president is just telling the truth as it is.” However, what remains on debate among lawmakers is whether or not Duterte had known what his daughter has been cooking. “If the president claimed he didn’t have an inkling that Sara will do it , then that would be surprising, if not truly incredible,” said a senior administration congressman who requested anonymity. The lawmaker said nearly all House members who backed Alvarez’s removal and his eventual replacement by former president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were convinced that the president no longer objected when Sara carried out the plan to oust Alvarez. Mayor Duterte received strong backing from Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo pursuing the House leadership coup on the day Duterte was scheduled to deliver his third State of the Nation Address in July. 1Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero was among the lawmakers who admitted supporting the oust Alvarez plot. Romero had been put in charge of convincing party-list solons to shift loyalty from Alvarez to Arroyo. The plan was put in play immediately after Arroyo finally agreed to be elected speaker. “The former president had rejected the speakership a number of times but other candidates to the post were not expected to convince the majority to support the coup,” the source said. The ouster move was carried out with great care and secrecy that Alvarez and his group did not know what hit them when the pro-Arroyo majority was already organized. This happened on the eve of the SONA, giving the former speaker little time to avert his removal, it was noted.