House of Representatives. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Are political party lines thicker than mentor-mentee ties?
On Monday, Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a former president, was seen with House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and other legislative leaders who are part of Lakas-CMD, among them Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and Majority Floor Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe.
This was just after Romualdez criticized Arroyo’s mentee — Vice President Sara Duterte — for saying that she had talked with a contract killer about assassinating Romualdez, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.
Earlier, Romualdez said Duterte’s statements were a threat to the country’s democracy, noting that violence should not have a place in Philippine society. He also warned Duterte that no amount of noise can drown out the truth, as he accused her of diverting the public’s attention from issues faced by her office.
Duterte stated several times publicly stated that she looked up to Arroyo. In July 2018, then-Davao City Mayor Duterte called Arroyo a strong leader after she was elected House speaker.
Then when Arroyo was stripped of her senior deputy speaker role during the 19th Congress, Duterte resigned from Lakas-CMD — the party that she became a part of before the 2022 national elections.
READ: Lagman believes Sara’s party resignation linked to Arroyo ouster
However, Romualdez and Arroyo share a long history too. Once seen as Arroyo’s protege, Romualdez has been key a member of Lakas-CMD, the former president’s party. When Gonzales took his oath as senior deputy speaker, Arroyo went up the rostrum and held Romualdez’s and Gonzales’ hands.
READ: House united? Gonzales, Arroyo walk together as new senior deputy speaker takes oath
Duterte’s threat against Romualdez and the Marcos couple came after she visited her chief-of-staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, who was detained at the House premises. Duterte then spent the night inside the Batasang Pambansa complex, as she locked herself inside the room of her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.
But when the House committee decided to transfer Lopez to the Correctional Institute for Women, Duterte held a briefing and cursed Romualdez, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, before threatening to kill them.
After these threats, the House came up with a resolution — Resolution No. 2092, expressing support for President Marcos and Speaker Romualdez.
READ: Sara Duterte’s kill remark vs Marcos is ‘active threat’ – Palace
The expenses of Vice President Duterte’s offices — the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) — have been scrutinized by the House committee on good government and public accountability, due to several observations from the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding irregularities.
For the OVP, COA previously handed out a notice of disallowance on P73.2 million of the offices’ P125-million confidential fund (CF) for 2022 — an item which several lawmakers said should not be available in the first place, as the original budget crafted when Leni Robredo was vice president did not have this item.
READ: Sara Duterte’s confidential fund spending raises new, more doubts
Regarding DepEd, there have been questions about the low number of classrooms constructed while Duterte was its secretary. Eventually, it was revealed that the DepEd under Duterte supposedly made it appear that their CFs were used for a youth training program when it was the Armed Forces of the Philippines and local government units that shouldered the expenses.
There are also fears that fictitious personalities — such as a certain Mary Grace Piattos — were used to authenticate acknowledgment receipts (ARs) of OVP’s expenditures, particularly those involving CFs.
Last November 5, Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo pointed out to COA that several of the ARs were signed by Piattos, whose first name is similar to a coffee shop and whose surname is also that of a famous potato chip brand.