Among those thrown off by the House leadership struggle on the day that it was happening were the street protesters who conveniently ascribed what was transpiring then as having been engineered by the Palace.

The confusion that enveloped Congress was clear to everybody watching television and the negotiations that happened were apparent which resulted in the delay of the State of the Nation Address.

The left and the yellows, while their cohorts at the House schemed with the new Speaker Gloria Arroyo, ended up with chants against a “Duterte-Arroyo regime.”

What happened at the House last Monday, however, flies in the face of those accusing President Rody Duterte of being a dictator. Rody was among those who were befuddled by the turn of events.

Arroyo has the reputation of turning situations into her favor such as in the 2001 power grab when she overthrew the popularly elected President Joseph Estrada and took her oath as president at the EDSA Shrine after the top brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines led by the late Angelo Reyes held a coup d’etat.

In 2004, Arroyo was also accused of cheating her way to the presidency against the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. as indicated in the infamous “Hello Garci” recordings.

The rise of Arroyo at the House would be far from beneficial to Rody since it threatens his hold on his main political base, Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas (PDP) which will be dominated by Arroyo allies while the federalism move is also put at risk.

In October last year, Arroyo switched to the PDP leaving her own Lakas party for political convenience and apparently as part of the House takeover plot.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles said an overhaul of the President’s party is expected with Arroyo’s return to power.

The people, based on the surveys, are expecting the government to educate and inform them of the shift to the federal government that would require the revision of the Constitution.

The sole factor, it seems, that a sizable number of respondents are ready to change their minds to favoring charter change (cha-cha) is the wellspring of trust in Rody.

During the term of Arroyo, who ended her controversial nine-year term with a negative trust rating, cha-cha became an unpopular call equated with attempts for political perpetuity.

An Arroyo-led House will necessarily bring back the same skepticism to the cha-cha move and eventually Rody’s ultimate effort for change that is the federalism shift.

Tinkering with the Constitution becomes tricky with Arroyo leading Congress and public sentiment towards cha-cha and the federalism move may swing to the deep negative due to her reputation.

The hostile power grab last Monday also did not help improve Arroyo’s image before the public.

The main worry would be a cha-cha in the hands of a House led by Arroyo who someday may become the ultimate beneficiary of the federalism move.

The Consultative Committee submitted a draft federal charter to Rody but it will be Congress under a proposed constituent assembly (con-ass) that will have the final say on the contents of the new charter.

The proposed revisions will then be subjected to a referendum and its approval will pave the way for the arduous process of installing a federal state.

With an Arroyo-led House and the whole Congress likely through con-ass, she would wield the immense power of crafting a Constitution to her political gain.

During the cha-cha moves under her administration, Arroyo was suspected of working to install a unicameral parliamentary government that she would head indefinitely as prime minister.

The gullible members of the House failed to look beyond their self-political interests in handing over power to Arroyo which puts at risk all the hard work of Rody and his administration for the past two years.

A favorable public sentiment plays a huge role in the federalism push that is not present in the highly unpopular Speaker Arroyo.

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