Arroyo out as senior deputy speaker, swaps places with Gonzales

Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (left) and Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr.

Pampanga 2nd district Representative and former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been relegated to the position of deputy speaker in the House of Representatives.

This change was made during the tail end of plenary session Wednesday night, May 17.

Arroyo, chairperson emeritus of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), was the erstwhile senior deputy speaker in the chamber.

Essentially swapping places with Arroyo was her province-mate and erstwhile deputy speaker, Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr.

This makes Gonzales the highest ranked member of the House, next only to Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte’s 1st district.

Romualdez is the Lakas-CMD president.

The session was adjourned immediately after these changes were announced and made official on the floor.

Mere seconds later, House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe issued a statement on the reason for Arroyo’s rather sudden relagation.

“The House of Representatives has elected Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Jr. as senior deputy speaker to unburden his cabalen, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, of the heavy load required from the position,” Dalipe said.

The camp of Arroyo, 76, has yet to respond to the events in plenary as of this posting.

— Ellson Quismorio