Call for ‘no-el’ may have swayed colleagues to oust Alvarez — Roque

The call of Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez for a “no-election” in 2019 may have influenced lawmakers to seek his ouster, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Tuesday.

“From what I heard, yes,” Roque said in a text message if Alvarez’ proposal for the suspension of the 2019 midterm elections may have influenced Congressmen to seek for his ouster.

However, Roque insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte did not have anything to do with the ouster.

“[The] President had no hand in it,” Roque said.

In March, Roque said any attempt replace Alvarez as House Speaker was just “wishful thinking,” citing that the Davao del Sur lawmaker still enjoyed the President’s trust at that time.

READ: Roque: Attempt to push for Alvarez replacement just ‘wishful thinking’

Alvarez earlier said it would be practical to suspend the 2019 elections to facilitate the country’s possible shift to a federal form of government.

However, in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Roque said the President “had problems” with the proposal to suspend the 2019 elections.

“Even the President had problems with the call of the House Speaker on no-el, no elections,” he said.

“I noticed that the President was visibly concerned about the pronouncements of the Speaker on no election in so far as he related also no elections to federalism,” he added.

The Palace official, however, clarified that Malacañang does not interfere on House matters.

“It has always been the Palace position that we do not interfere in purely internal matters of the House,” he said.

The President, he said, respects the separation of power.

“Let’s just say that whatever the decision of the House is, the Palace has always been amenable to accepting the choice of leadership,” he said.“In other words, the President, being a lawyer, really observes the principle of separation of powers and has accorded the House full respect particularly in its choice for its leaders,” he added.

Ready to work with Arroyo

On Monday, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was elected Speaker on by 184 House members, becoming the 21st leader of the House and the first woman to hold the post.

“We are ready to work with the chosen leader of the House of Representatives. And because Mrs.—Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is now the House Speaker, we are of course able and ready to work with Speaker Arroyo,” Roque said.

“We have had very good relations with Speaker Arroyo; she was one of the staunchest supporters of the President during the elections; they share the same political agenda, so we foresee absolutely no problems in working with Speaker Arroyo,” he added.

The House leadership was grappled with a daylong leadership row during Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona) as allies of Arroyo installed her as a replacement for Alvarez.

Presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio was mum on accusations that he was behind the ouster of Alvarez.

“No comment,” she said in a text message to INQUIRER.net

Rumors of a possible change of leadership at the House of Representatives gained traction in February this year after Duterte-Carpio issued scathing remarks against Alvarez, who supposedly called her newly-formed party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), as part of the opposition as it was not sanctioned by the President.

The Presidential daughter also alleged that Alvarez had boasted before a crowd that he, as House Speaker, could easily impeach the President.

Alvarez has denied these allegations.

A day after the House leadership row, Duterte-Carpio described Arroyo as “a strong leader.”

“Congratulations to SPGMA (Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). A strong leader,” she said.   /vvp

READ: Hail to new House chief: Sara Duterte says Arroyo a strong leader