Speaker Arroyo: No to ‘No-el’, term extension, PM post

SHE’S BACK Days after capturing the House leadership, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo enjoys a light moment with Bataan Gov. Albert Garcia (in ball cap) and Hermosa town Mayor Jopet Inton on Friday, when she led the distribution of relief goods to families displaced by floods at Barangay Pinulot, Dinalupihan town in Bataan. —GREG REFRACCION

“Black propaganda,” newly installed House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said of talks circulating that she could become prime minister if the proposed shift to a federal form of government succeeded.

“The proposed Constitution is presidential federal, isn’t it? So, that’s black propaganda,” the former President said in an interview on the sidelines of her flood relief operation at Barangay Pinulot in Dinalupihan, Bataan province, on Friday.

President Duterte’s consultative committee has proposed a presidential federal form of government, not a parliamentary one, Arroyo added, debunking the possibility floated by her critics, among them Senators Grace Poe and Panfilo Lacson.

Arroyo also opposed any postponement of the 2019 elections that former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had previously been pushing, saying that it would be more practical to facilitate the country’s shift to federalism.

“No. Definitely, I am not supporting term extension,” she said.

But the former President refused to elaborate, saying she did not want to discuss politics.

“No. No politics,” Arroyo said.

Economist

On Thursday, Mr. Duterte hailed Arroyo’s election as House Speaker and said it was “a good thing” because as an economist, she could help address the country’s economic woes.

The President made the remarks at the 69th Araw ng Ipil celebration in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, three days after Arroyo unseated Alvarez with 184 votes from members of the House of Representatives.

In his speech, Mr. Duterte recalled how Arroyo had called him weeks earlier to express her concern about the rising inflation.

To address this, the President said his administration was now pushing for the passage of a rice tariff bill to help lower inflation and rice prices.

GAME OF THRONES Hours before she was formally elected Speaker, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo takes her seat as congressional leader during the leadership row that delayed President Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address on July 23. —JOAN BONDOC

‘Still cute’

The proposed bill is meant to replace with a tariff system the current quantitative restrictions on rice imports, the President said.

Aside from managing inflation, there is a need to generate more job opportunities for Filipinos especially in the provinces where there is a shortage of jobs, President Duterte added.

Arroyo arrived at 8 in the morning in Dinalupihan, Bataan, and left after an hour, braving the slight drizzle as families displaced by floods lined up to receive a box of canned goods and 3 kilos of rice and noodles from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Many of the families did not expect Arroyo and were surprised when she turned up. “She is still cute,” said an elderly woman.

Earlier, Arroyo took a boat to the coastal village of Sebitanan in Sasmuan, Pampanga province, and distributed 700 food packs to families whose homes were flooded.

“Congrats pu,” they greeted her.

“How have you been?” she replied as she handed out the food packs.

Arroyo, who is serving her last term as representative of Pampanga’s second district, assured the families that they remained her priority. Her district consists of the towns of Guagua, Lubao, Sasmuan, Sta. Rita, Floridablanca and Porac.

Flood control

Families from Sasmuan’s coastal villages of Batang Uno, Batang Dos and Sebitanan received food packs containing 10 kilos of rice, four cans of sardines and four cans of corned beef.

Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, who did the rounds of flooded Pampanga towns with Arroyo, had appealed to the Department of Public Works and Highways to dredge Pampanga River, the main tributary that snakes through several towns in Bulacan province and Pampanga before it drains into Manila Bay.

Arroyo urged local officials to improve the province’s flood control infrastructure. “I don’t want us to suffer flooding all the time. Can’t we remedy this situation?” she said, referring to the floods triggered by monsoon rains that swept through 156 villages in Central Luzon, 94 of them in Pampanga province, and displaced more than 4,000 families.

Arroyo said she would consult the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on July 30 to discuss the massive effects on the province of the recent monsoon rains and series of storms.

During her second term as President, from 2005 to 2010, Arroyo funneled P9.41 billion worth of projects to Pampanga.

Former President Benigno Aquino III, one of Arroyo’s critics, funded P16.94 billion worth of infrastructure projects in the province from 2011 to March 2016. —WITH A REPORT FROM JULIE M. AURELIO