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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider No more 'spat'? Arroyo takes part in Gonzales oathtaking, gets love from Romualdez

No more 'spat'? Arroyo takes part in Gonzales oathtaking, gets love from Romualdez

Published May 22, 2023 09:59 am
House Speaker Martin Romualdez (2nd from left), Deputy Speaker Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (center), and Senior Deputy Speaker Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. (2nd from right) (Screenshot from YouTube live)



Is the House leadership "spat" officially over? It looks like it, if the interactions of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senior Deputy Speaker Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr., and Deputy Speaker Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are any indication. Gonzales' oathtaking as senior deputy speaker took place during plenary session Monday afternoon, May 22. Romualdez administered the oath. Before this was carried out, Romualdez and Gonzales showed respect to Arroyo, a former president, via "pagmamano" wherein the top two officials of the chamber approached her table on the plenary floor.
(Screenshot from YouTube live)
This caused their colleagues--mostly likely aware of what has been written in the news--to burst into an applause. It was only last May 17 when the House leadership relegated Arroyo from senior deputy speaker to a deputy speaker. Pundits called this move a "demotion", with Gonzales picked to replace her. Photo shows House Speaker Martin Romualdez  administering the oath to Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. in the presence of former President and Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Gonzales' family.




But that was last week; on Monday afternoon, Arroyo accompanied her cabalen, Gonzales, to the rostrum where the latter’s family was waiting. After the oathtaking, the lady lawmaker stood between Romualdez and Gonzales and was showered with applause by the two officials. Gonzales even warmly hugged Arroyo, for everybody in plenary to see. (Screenshot from YouTube live)

Romualdez and Arroyo are high-ranking officials of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), holding the position of president and chairperson emeritus, respectively. Gonzales, on the other hand, is the highest-ranked Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) stalwart in the House. PDP-Laban is chaired by former president Rodrigo Duterte. Reports said that a signing of a "partnership agreement" between Lakas-CMD and PDP-Laban also followed the oathtaking. Arroyo's relegation to a deputy speaker triggered rumors that she was planning to unseat her party-mate Romualdez. She addressed this by saying that being Speaker is no logmer part of her "political objectives". She was the Speaker during the tail end of the 17th Congress.

Related Tags

gloria macapagal-arroyo Lakas-CMD Martin Romualdez Rep. Aurelio Dong Gonzales Jr. PDP-Laban party
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