House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Speaker's office, Facebook)
House Deputy Speaker and Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto has downplayed as a mere political spat the issue between Speaker Martin Romualdez and Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. "This 'political tampuhan (spat)' shall pass," Recto said in a statement Sunday, May 21. "This is a tempest in a teacup that will not wash away a strong alliance between close partners who share a common vision of a prosperous and peaceful country," he said. "The Presidency has been served well by this working partnership, two House leaders pooling their expertise and experience in providing valuable counsel to the leader of the land," Recto said. 'The uninformed will say that unity has cracked. Nothing is farther from the truth. No wound needs healing as none was inflicted," he further said. While he didn't specifically name Romualdez and Arroyo, he was obviously referring to the two Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party-mates. Romualdez and Arroyo used to hold the no.1 and 2 positions in the House respectively. That is, until the House leadership stripped Arroyo of her senior deputy speaker title. She is now one of eight deputy speakers in the lower chamber. Arroyo, a former Philippine president who commands respect in the House, is the chairperson emeritus of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).Romualdez, Marcos' cousin and a known concensus-builder, sits as party president. After her removal as senior deputy speaker, Arroyo released a statement saying that she no longer plans to pursue the Speakership. This was in direct response to allegations that she was plotting to unseat Romualdez. Recto expressed confidence that "The fog of miscommunication will soon clear, the vow of cooperation will be renewed and attempts to drive a wedge between them shall have failed." "This tandem is instrumental in the House’s prodigious output of bills, and the vigilant exercise of its oversight powers," said the former Senate President Pro Tempore. Recto further said that Congress "will not feast on intrigues" and rather focus on finding solutions to the country’s problems.