The House of Representatives under the leadership of newly elected Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has so far only processed two items in plenary—one for each of the two session days of the Third Regular Session. During the First and Second Regular Sessions, the House processed an average of 16 measures per day, totaling to 2,929 by the end of the period. On Tuesday, however, the supposedly productive chamber was only able to ratify the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law, which was not even part of its 52-page Order of Business for that day. The ratification even came a day late, as it was supposed to have been done on the day of President Rodrigo Duterte's third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday. That session was abruptly adjourned, supposedly to prevent the brewing coup d'etat at that time from blowing up. The slow-paced performance of the House appears to have continued on Wednesday, when the lawmakers were only able to adopt the resolution seeking to enter into the records the proceedings of Monday's post-SONA session electing Arroyo as Speaker. Wednesday's plenary session, in fact, did not end without drama, as ACT Teachers party-list Representative Antonio Tinio aggressively tried, but failed, to block the adoption of the said resolution. Apart from the plenary sessions, committee meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday also took a step back. Two of the four scheduled committee meetings on Tuesday were cancelled, while only three of the nine committee meetings on Wednesday pushed through. But Deputy Speaker Rolando Andaya, who presided over the first two House plenary sessions, argued that the change in leadership did not affect the legislative work of the chamber. In a phone interview, Andaya claimed that the committee meetings were cancelled even before Arroyo took office. "Kung meron man naantala, it would be the reorganization of the House, nothing affecting our legislative agenda," he said. "Growing pains lang ito, rearrangement ng furniture. Kapag nakuha na yan, tuloy tuloy na yan. Getting to know you stage [pa lang]," he added. Andaya believes that by Monday, when all things have been ironed out, the pacing of the House as regards its legislative duties will become smoother. "I think Monday, mas mabilis na pace. Nakita naman, we help each other out. Alam na namin terrain. It will be smoother on Monday," he said. Arroyo on Wednesday directed chairpersons of various committees to continue their duties. “The dust has settled. Nag-usap na si former Speaker [Pantaleon] Alvarez at Speaker Arroyo. And Speaker Arroyo has met committee chairpersons and gave the instructions to continue their work. Back to normal po, back to work,” House Committee on Housing and Urban Development chair Alfredo Benitez told reporters in a press conference. “Basically po, ang Congress is balik-trabaho,” he added. Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro even said that House members can work beyond schedule to make up for the cancelled committee hearings. "If there is a cancellation of hearing, we can also [work] double-time and triple-time in order to gain the lost opportunity," he said. In the coming days, the House is expected to take up the budget proposal for 2019 submitted by the President and commence the budget deliberations. Also in its plate is the consideration of the draft federal charter from the presidential Consultative Committee, which is part of the proposed shift to a federal form of government. — BM, GMA News<doc-sep>This year’s State of the Nation Address has evoked several stories, but the biggest so far was former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s installation as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. ADVERTISEMENT In 2010, before Arroyo’s term ended, several analysts have considered her career in national politics over, after her administration was consistently plagued by corruption issues. After eight years and several years of medical treatment, she made her comeback to head the 17th Congress. One of the country’s top economic minds, Arroyo, daughter of the late former president Diosdado Macapagal, graduated valedictorian from the Assumption Convent School in 1964. She later studied at the Georgetown University, where she was a dean’s lister while being in a class that featured former United States President Bill Clinton. When she got her Economics degree from the Assumption College, she was magna cum laude. Her postgraduate economic degrees were from the Ateneo de Manila University (Master’s, 1978) and the University of the Philippines (Doctorate, 1985) — two universities where she also taught. After the Edsa People Power Revolution, Arroyo was appointed by former president Corazon Aquino as Assistant Secretary, and later as Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry. Arroyo made her senatorial bid in 1992 and was re-elected in 1995, garnering over 16 million votes. In 1998, she was the running mate of presidential candidate Joe de Venecia, who lost to eventual President Joseph Estrada. Arroyo won, with one of the largest vote differentials in Philippine elections. When Estrada stepped down from office in 2001, Arroyo was sworn into office during the so-called Edsa 2 rally. In one of the most controversial presidential elections after the Edsa 1, Arroyo outlasted late actor Fernando Poe Jr. Arroyo won, but not without issues: the legitimacy of her presidency was questioned, after wiretapped tapes of her conversation with Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano on the security of votes in Mindanao. Before her term ended, Arroyo ran as the representative of the second district of Pampanga. Over a year after her term, she was placed on hospital arrest over corruption charges during her nine-year stint. Read Next<doc-sep>The House of Representatives on Monday officially elected former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as its new Speaker. Arroyo's election came after what appeared to be an informal voting among House members to install her as their new leader moments before President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). Her election also effectively removes Davao Del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez from his position. A special session after the SONA was called to make a formal election, with 238 members present in the session. One hundred eighty-four members of the chamber voted for Arroyo's speakership and 12 abstained. Before Arroyo's election as speaker, Malacañang maintained that it does not meddle in the internal affairs of the House, a co-equal branch of government. "It is for the House to decide who ultimately will be its leader and when the House is ready then of course the Executive, because we are a co-equal branch of government, has no choice but to recognize kung sino 'yung kikilalanin na mayorya ng members ng Kongreso as hinalal na Speaker," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told reporters. Duterte's address was delayed by more than an hour as he held separate meetings with Alvarez and Arroyo over the leadership row. Missing mace During the session, Nueva Ecija Representative Magnolia Antonino moved to produce the mace, the symbol of the House's authority, before they proceed to their agenda. Presiding officer Deputy Speaker Rolando Andaya, acting upon Antonino's objection-less motion, ordered the mace to be produced from the House's archives. The session was suspended for this purpose. But even before the mace was produced, Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro moved to resume the session, saying that the mace is "merely symbolic," and that its presence cannot take precedence of the authority of the House majority present in the session. Upon resumption of the session, Antonino moved to declare the position of the Speaker vacant, which received no objection from the body. Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu then nominated Arroyo for the position, which was not contested by any other member. No other nomination was made. The House then proceeded to a nominal voting and elected Arroyo as the new Speaker. Rumors of Alvarez's ouster have been spreading since earlier this year. A news report, citing an unnamed lawmaker, said that some lawmakers from Mindanao are going around Northern Luzon to gather support to install former Arroyo as Speaker. Meanwhile, Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Jay Velasco is reportedly being eyed to replace Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas. Arroyo previously held the position of deputy speaker until she was removed from her post in March last year following her vote against the controversial death penalty bill. —with Virgil Lopez/JST, GMA News<doc-sep>It was a movie-worthy twist. Former president of the Philippines and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has become the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. She took her oath today, before the start of President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address. She replaced Congressperson Pantaleon Alvarez, the representative of the first district of Davao del Norte. Arroyo was seen speaking to the members of Congress from the rostrum then later took her oath with the microphone turned off. Before Alvarez was ousted, his allies adjourned the session this morning to prevent his removal, Rappler reported. But members of the House returned to the hall early in the afternoon, with Deputy Speaker Rolando Andya speaking at the plenary, saying that the morning session should not have adjourned that early. Andaya continued speaking even after his microphone started malfunctioning. Davao City 1st District Representative Karlo Nograles then appeared and looked like he was calling the roll. After several congresspersons stood up, Arroyo proceeded to walk up the podium to take her oath. She is the first woman to become Speaker of the House. However, it was Alvarez who welcomed President Duterte when he arrived at the hall to deliver his SONA. He also remained seated at the rostrum as Duterte delivered his speech. His allies are expected to contest Arroyo’s oath-taking. Several reports have said that Alvarez’s ousting was led by Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. Duterte-Carpio had a public feud with Alvarez, whom she called “an insecure fat sleaze” after the latter reportedly said she was part of the opposition and was not in good terms with the president. Arroyo was the country’s president from 2001 — 2010. She was arrested from her hospital room in 2011 on charges of election fraud and corruption but was freed from hospital arrest in 2016 after the Supreme Court declared the evidence as insufficient. The post UPDATED: Former PH President Arroyo becomes new House Speaker appeared first on Coconuts.<doc-sep>
PAMPANGA Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo officially became the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Monday after her colleagues convened in a session following the third State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Rodrigo Duterte. With 184 lawmakers voting for her installation, the former president became the first female House Speaker of the Philippines, ousting Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez. Talk of Arroyo taking over the Speakership from Alvarez broke out just before the opening of the session at 10 a.m. But the House adjourned the session without the expected change in leadership. Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. was supposed to raise his objection to the adjournment of the session earlier when the audio of the livestream was turned off. House plenary was temporarily off-limits to media. “The session was adjourned despite objections raised loudly on the floor, objecting the motion to adjourn. While the motion to adjourn is not debatable, there was an objection. In that case, the motion should be put to a vote,” Andaya earlier said. Members of the House returned to the session hall by early afternoon, and signed a manifesto calling for Alvarez’s ouster as Speaker. At past 3 p.m., Arroyo was then sworn in as House Speaker even as the microphone at the podium was notably turned off. While Arroyo was at the podium, Alvarez was seen welcoming Duterte to the House. Despite Arroyo being sworn in, it was Alvarez who took the Speaker’s seat during the Sona. President Duterte had a talk with Alvarez and Arroyo after the House voted to oust Alvarez. Afterwards, Alvarez emerged and took the Speaker’s seat. Abellanosa, Salimbangon back Arroyo Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa of Cebu City’s south district was among those who signed the manifesto to oust Alvarez. “I signed the manifesto and voted for GMA to take over the House leadership from Speaker Alvarez. His pronouncements against the Cebu City Bus Rapid Transit project and his support to the opposition group in Cebu City are key points that influenced my vote for GMA as Speaker,” he said in a text message to Cebu Daily News. For his part, Rep. Benhur Salimbangon said the National Unity Party (NUP) where he belongs supported Alvarez’s removal as House Speaker. “The endorsement was signed by the party. It was a party’s decision,” he said, explaining why he also signed the manifesto. Cebu Daily News also tried to contact other Cebuano members of the House but they did not answer the calls. In 2010, before Arroyo’s term ended, several analysts have considered her career in national politics over, after her administration was consistently plagued by corruption issues. After eight years and several years of medical treatment, she made her comeback to head the 17th Congress. In 1998, Arroyo was the running mate of presidential candidate Joe de Venecia, who lost to eventual President Joseph Estrada. Arroyo won, with one of the largest vote differentials in Philippine elections. When Estrada stepped down from office in 2001, Arroyo was sworn into office during the so-called Edsa 2 rally. / with reports from Morexette Marie B. Erram and Jessa Mae O. Sotto