Outgoing President and incoming Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has surprisingly expressed reluctance to contest the speakership of the House of Representatives when Congress opens on June 30, one of her top aides disclosed on Wednesday. Speaking to newsmen, presidential political affairs adviser Prospero Pichay Jr. revealed that Arroyo met with “dozens” of her allies in Congress on Tuesday night. Pichay said his colleagues tried to convince Arroyo that she should run for the speakership but the President turned down the challenge, saying she would rather be “like Sonia Gandhi,” the Indian leader who was head of the ruling Congress party but who remained in the sidelines of power. Arroyo's apparent change of mind came following statements made by other Arroyo aides and even her relatives who said the President wanted to become the Speaker of the House after she handily won the congressional race in her home province of Pampanga last May 10. Critics claimed that Arroyo ran for a congressional seat precisely to get the Speakership, the third highest government post in the Philippines after the President and the Senate presidency. The critics further averred that once Arroyo succeeds in becoming the next House Speaker, she would push Congress to shift to a parliamentary form of government, under which she can run for prime minister, this regaining power once again. However, this scenario became dim as Pichay painted a picture of a President-turned-congresswoman who suddenly appeared reluctant to wield power. “Last Tuesday night, many party members told Mrs. Arroyo she should run for the Speakership but she was unmoved,” Pichay said. Pichay said Arroyo even got angry when her political allies kept persuading her to seek the speakership. Nevertheless, he said, “I don't think it's not impossible to change her mind.” He said Arroyo is the strongest contender of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party for the top post in the House of Representatives. He said the party has enough numbers to take control of the House, citing 109 administration congressmen and a handful of party-list lawmakers who are on their side. The Lakas-Kampi-CMD is expected to nominate its bet for Speaker a week before July 26 when the House elects its leader. “The election for House Speaker is on July 26 so we have two weeks left in May and we have the whole month of June,” Pichay said. Should Arroyo change her mind and decide to run for Speaker, she could expect a stiff competition from the Liberal Party (LP) of President-apparent Noynoy Aquino. Outgoing Quezon City Mayor and incoming Congressman Feliciano Belmonte Jr., the LP's top bet for House Speaker, vowed on Monday that he will give Arroyo a “good fight.” Belmonte said the LP is seeking to gain the majority of the House by taking allies from other parties to be able to beat a possible challenge from Arroyo.
