Politicians know in the deepest recesses of their hearts that no matter how they desire to stay in power, they can’t hang on to their posts forever. In politics, especially in this country, there is no such a thing as forever.

However, many politicians want to prove to all and sundry that this political maxim doesn’t apply to them. To make themselves the exception drive politicians do the unthinkable until it rears its ugly head.

What the nation and perhaps a large part of the world witnessed Monday at the House of Representatives was one of those moments when personal political interests rose without regard to its ramifications.

Constitutionally, President Rodrigo R. Duterte was duty-bound to make an accounting of his administration’s performance the previous year through the State of the Nation Address (SoNA). Monday’s presidential SoNA was slated to be delivered at the opening of the third session of the 17th Congress at 4 p.m.

Sadly, the President was delayed in complying with his constitutional duty because a few minutes before his helicopter landed at the grounds of the House of Representatives in Quezon City, former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo together with 184 of her colleagues ousted House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte.

While the nation waited with bated breath for President Duterte to deliver his speech, it was reported that he tried to intervene in the impasse so his SoNA was not hostaged by the House leadership row between two of his partymates in the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino. President Duterte chose Alvarez to sit beside him for the SoNA.

It took one hour and 25 minutes to have that leadership row resolved. Duterte was able to deliver his SoNA late. That incident was the first in the annals of the national legislature’s history. It sidelined for a moment what should have been the big event that afternoon.

The leadership impasse confirmed without doubt that Arroyo did salivate for the post held by her former Transportation secretary when she was President. Through that coup, GMA is now the fourth highest elected official of the land.

It is interesting to note that with Arroyo’s election as House Speaker, on record she is the only official in the land who had held the first, second and fourth highest elective positions in government. She had been President, Vice President and now Speaker.

That Alvarez did not want to give up his post was glaring as well. Despite talks in the morning of Monday that majority of the House members have declared his position vacant so a new Speaker can be elected, Alvarez and his loyal allies moved to postpone the session.

But the Arroyo group did its counter-move by holding a rump session at about 3:30 p.m. to elect Arroyo and had her immediately take her oath by the youngest member of the House as per tradition.

When President Duterte finally delivered his third SoNA, the fire, energy and enthusiasm like those seen in his first two SoNA were noticeably absent. And no one can blame the President for he was made to wait for about one hour and a half by his squabbling partymates.

What happened Monday was truly a sad occurrence in which the nation was the biggest loser.

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