By Junex Doronio
DESPITE HER RECENT CONGRATULATORY remarks on the high trust rating of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may still lose her post as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives if she does not dare to openly assail former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for calling the lower chamber as “the most rotten institution.”
Unconfirmed rumors swirled at the House of Representatives that Isabela Rep. Tonypet Albano will likely fill in the anticipated vacancy in the Deputy Speaker post if FPGMA remains silent and her loyalty to the institution that she’s a member of also remains “dubious”.
“I would like to congratulate House Speaker and Lakas President Martin Romualdez on the recent OCTA Research Report reflecting a +6% increase in Trust Rating to 60%,” FPGMA said in a statement last November 2.
Macapagal-Arroyo’s congratulatory remarks on Romualdez caught many by surprise as the former president is widely known to be the political mentor of Vice President Sara Duterte who is also casting a moist eye on the 2028 presidency.
But she still reportedly refused to join the House leadership in condemning FPRRD for maligning the lower chamber and even threatening ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro whom he accused as “communist”.
(ai/mnm)
