Around 100 lawmakers are reportedly still nursing deep-seated grievances against former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo over alleged mistreatment during her brief stint as House Speaker.
The simmering resentment over controversial budget cuts is among the reasons the lawmakers snubbed Arroyo’s alleged plot to oust incumbent Speaker Martin Romualdez, according to a PoliSkooper.
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The PolitiSkooper revealed Arroyo’s attempt to realign the budget after ascending to the coveted Speaker’s position in 2018. In a supposed attempt to teach a harsh lesson to the lawmakers who backed former Speaker Bebot Alvarez, she allegedly left them with a zero budget.
“If she believes she can still rely on her political capital from her presidency, which was more than a decade ago, she couldn’t be more mistaken,” the PoliSkooper said.
“What she did to those 100 congressmen just a few years ago is still fresh in their memory,” the Poliskooper added.
The PoliSkooper earlier revealed that Arroyo has found difficulty in gathering support in the House for her alleged ouster plot. Many House members remain supportive of Romualdez and are die-hard supporters of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Some lawmakers even turned down Arroyo’s plea for support with the ultimate diss — a sarcastic “I am sorry,” according to the PoliSkooper. The lawmakers used Arroyo’s famous public apology for her “lapse in judgment” in the “Hello Garci” election fraud scandal.
Arroyo served as House Speaker in the second regular session of the 17th Congress, starting July 2018. Her stint lasted for a year.
Arroyo recently lost her post as Senior Deputy Speaker amid a rumored plot to unseat Romualdez. The former leader, a known ally of the Marcoses, has been demoted to Deputy Speaker.
Arroyo later dispelled talk about a plan to remove Romualdez, saying her actions were misconstrued. She said while she aspired for the Speaker’s post again when Marcos became president, she respects the new president’s decision to support Romualdez for the top House job.
