Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was the object of yet another coup attempt, this time, not as president of the Republic but as the leader of the House of Representatives, a senior administration lawmaker said.
The lawmaker, who requested anonymity, said it was hubris on the part of the economic managers to accuse members of the House of Representatives of “unparliamentary behavior” when they themselves conspired with some solons to oust Arroyo shortly after she assumed the speakership in July.
The solon said a group led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno “marched into” Arroyo’s office more than a month after she was elected House Speaker.
The group, he said, supposedly “demanded” that the 2019 proposed budget should not be slashed nor touched as Diokno stressed that this was supposedly “the President’s budget.”
When the House leadership refused to heed the bidding, the economic managers allegedly instigated some members of the Appropriations committee to meet and attempt a coup to replace Arroyo with a “friendlier one as desired by Secretary Diokno,” the source said.
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Some lawmakers allied with the economic managers, the source said, even gave out the mobile numbers of three Cabinet members to other solons so that they could confirm for themselves that the ouster move had the blessing of Malacañang.
The lawmakers, however, soon found out that there was no such directive from the President and the coup attempt quickly fizzled.
“Despite the attempt to replace her and the audacious behavior demonstrated by the Cabinet officials, Mrs. Arroyo kept her silence. I thus find it objectionable that Dominguez had accused the House of Representatives of unparliamentary behavior during Diokno’s Question Hour over the budget when the economic managers themselves were the ones who had been publicly showing antagonistic behavior towards Speaker Arroyo since she took over the House leadership,” the source said.
“May I remind Secretary Dominguez that he and his economic team were the first to show a series of sheer and flagrant disrespect towards the House leadership,” he added.
Even before the budget deliberations, the source noted, Diokno labeled Arroyo as the “master of reenacted budget” when Congress questioned the sudden implementation of the cash-based budget (from the usual obligation-based) for next year’s budget.
Dominguez also told members of the business community that Arroyo was independently pushing for the imposition of the mining tax despite the fact that it was part of the priority legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte, the lawmaker said.
“It is the height of hubris that Secretary Dominguez and Secretary Diokno would now complain of unparliamentary behavior when the Budget Secretary was confronted by hard and irrefutable facts on corruption and questionable contracts with respect to the budget. Are they now saying that they are the only ones who can say a mouthful of accusations and innuendos against the Speaker and members of the Lower House and the House of Representatives cannot fight back to defend itself? Kapag sila ang umaatake, kahit paulit-ulit, ok lang? Pero kung si Speaker ang lumaban at ipagtanggol and sarili nya at ang institusyon ng Mababang Kapulungan, hindi pwede? Such hubris!” the source added.
For his part, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Arroyo has not expressed interest in a Cabinet post, in particular that of the Finance secretary, when her term ends next year.
“We will ask the President, that’s the first time that I’ve have heard of that. From what I hear from the Speaker is that she wants to retire. That’s a new development,” Panelo said.
Panelo’s statement ran contrary to the claim of Diokno that Arroyo was eyeing to replace Dominguez.
“She doesn’t say anything. When we talk every now and then, she doesn’t say anything about it,” the Palace official added. With Nat Mariano
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