TUBSDAY / MARCH 26, 2019
WWW.INOUIRER.NET
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She has no horse in the race for
the next leader bfthe House.
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo refused on Sunday
evening to be drawn into en-
dorsing dny of the two candi-
dates who separately received
the backing of President Du-
tertels daughter, Davao City
Mayor Sara Duterte.
"I don't want to comment
on the next Congress because.l
am not going to be a part ofit,"
the former President told re-
porters inBacolod City.
Mayor Duterte, leader of Arroyo's former party, Lakas-
the regional party Hugpong ng Christian Muslim Democrats,
Pagbabago who helped orches-
trate the coup staged by Ar-
royo last year against the pre-
vious Speaker, Pantaleon At-
varez, endorsed different con-
gressional candidates as the
next Speaker in two election
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campaign rallies last week.
On March 19 in Tacloban
City, she introduced former
Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez
as the next Speaker. But the
next day, she gave a similar in-
tooduction to Marinduque Rep.
Lord Allan Jay Velasco in Tag-
bilaran City.
President's supporters
The mayor later said she was
supporting "al1 those ldho are
supportive oftfie President "
Romualdez is president of
and the nephew of Rep. Imelda
Marcos, widow of the late dic-
tator Ferdinand Marcos.
Velasco, on the other hand,
is close to Mr. Duterte and the
rumored candidate of Arroyo's
current'party, the ruling Par-
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tido Demokratiko Pilipino-La-
kas ng Bayan.
Other candidates have emer-
ged in the speakership race, in-
cluding former Foreign Secr€tary
AIan Peter Cayetano, who is
seeking the seat of Taguig-Pa-
'
teros in the House, and Repre-
sentatives Ronaldo Zamora of
San Juan City, Lucy Torres-
Gomez of Leyte, Alex Advincula
and Abrahani Tolentino of
Cavite, and Federico Sandoval II
of Malabon City.
Arroyo reiterated her pre-
vious denials that she was keen
to accept a new post in the
Duterte administration once
her term was over.
"I'm going to continue writ-
ing my memoirs. As to lwhat lll
be doingl I've never given it much
thought yet on what I'll do to stay
busy," she said. -urnr tt.tq