“The power grab also happened when thousands of her provincemates in Pampanga were languishing from flood.

Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo termed as “black propaganda” the prospect mentioned by some legislators that she may become prime minister in a shift to a federal form of government.

Arroyo also said she is against a no election (no-el) scenario next year or term extension for government officials.

Arroyo during her nine years as President, however, had a poor batting average in keeping her word.

Recently, she assured partymates at the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino that she had no intention of becoming the Speaker.

Arroyo promising something, in fact, should be treated as a warning of her future moves.

On 30 December 2002 coinciding with the Rizal Day celebration, Arroyo said she would not run for the presidency in the 2004 elections so “the divided nation can heal.”

Just weeks after the announcement, the Daily Tribune ran a story about her husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, making the rounds on resting areas of taxicab drivers for signatures in a supposed public petition for her to seek the presidency.

Ten months later, based on what she claimed as a wide clamor for her to run and the need to address the economic problems of the country, Arroyo took back her pledge and said she was running for President in the May 2004 elections.

“I will run for President in the election of 2004,” she then told a crowd of 50,000 in her home province of Pampanga.

Although the gathering was supposed to be a venue for a policy speech, it became a virtual political rally, attended by all the leaders of Arroyo’s then ruling Lakas party, including former Speaker Jose de Venecia and then Lakas president Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte.

“I hope that the fight now will be a fight through the ballot and will not be a fight to topple the government through the use of violence,” she said.

The 2004 elections went down in history as the most fraudulent ever resulting in opposition candidate and movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. being robbed of the presidency.

Last 23 July, on the day of the State of the Nation Address, Arroyo unceremoniously snatched the Speakership from Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.

The power grab also happened when thousands of her provincemates in Pampanga were languishing from flood brought by monsoon rains, prompting her cabalens to say that she prioritized political ambitions over their dire conditions.

The fear that now exists is that with her brand of transactional politics in maneuvering legislators to realize her agenda, Arroyo can easily hijack the campaign for a Federal system supported by President Rodrigo Duterte and the Charter change to put the shift into effect to suit her whims.

“Arroyo during her nine years as President, however, had a poor batting average in keeping her word.

Even without the setting up of a parliament, which can still be incorporated in a House draft of the Federal Constitution, Arroyo can still seek the presidency if the draft presented by the Consultative Committee is adopted.

Under the latest proposal, former presidents can run again for the top post after 2022 but Rody cannot.

The electoral route, however, would be a tough path for Arroyo to take considering her poor public image, particularly after the hostile grab of the House’s top post that was broadcast live nationwide prior to Rody’s speech.

But all that could change with Arroyo’s new-found power.

Many noted, for instance, that some lawmakers who commended former President Noynoy Aquino when Arroyo was arrested in 2011 also voted for her to become Speaker last Monday.

Arroyo can best be remembered by her “I am sorry” speech in response to the welling public outcry as a result of the “Hello Garci” scandal that proved she stole the presidency.

She’s not that sorry now after launching another political mischief.

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