“Arroyo is she who tricked the nation by wearing a neck brace while in hospital detention for plunder during the second Aquino presidency.

Let’s venture out into the unknown by attempting to imagine or unravel if you wish the ramifications to the Duterte presidency of the ascension to the plum House speakership post by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

As of this writing, reports had it that House members who belong to the administration Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) that supported the bid of Arroyo to depose erstwhile Speaker, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, are now bolting the party to join Arroyo’s dormant Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats or Lakas-CMD.

To recall, the Lakas-CMD party had its heyday in Philippine politics when Arroyo grabbed the presidency from Joseph Estrada in 2001. She later won the presidency in controversy-laden presidential elections in 2004 over the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. whose wife, actress Susan Roces, had publicly accused her of grabbing the presidency not only once but twice.

The implication of this move is that the once very powerful PDP-Laban in the House of Representatives had now been decimated by its own members when they abandoned ship and boarded the newest political ship in the horizon. For all intents and purposes, the PDP-Laban with this development is at this point a party of the past.

Remember that the PDP-Laban is not as strong in the Senate as well. This situation puts the Duterte administration’s legislative agenda in a precarious situation even if Arroyo had publicly vowed she will be supporting President Duterte’s legislative agenda. Knowing Arroyo as a wily politician, her word in this regard could only be taken with a grain of salt. Ask those politicians who had known her way back when she was just a Trade and Industry undersecretary, senator, Vice President and President.

Arroyo is she who tricked the nation by wearing a neck brace while in hospital detention for plunder during the second Aquino presidency. Many believed that she wore that neck brace to win the sympathy of the people to counter-balance the political backlash she received due to the plunder cases filed against her one after another.

That Arroyo as Speaker is now resuscitating her dormant political party speaks volume of her political intentions. Such political intention may not necessarily be in parallel with President Duterte’s own political intentions. And it will surprise no one if one day Arroyo’s political intentions will collide head-on with those of Duterte’s. In reality, this is not far-fetched.

Never forget the axiom that in politics there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies but only permanent interests. Arroyo’s politics, many observers say, is best described by this axiom.

“Why she was chosen by Duterte’s allies in the House to replace Alvarez is truly baffling to even the most veteran political observers.

Why she was chosen by Duterte’s allies in the House to replace Alvarez is truly baffling to even the most veteran political observers.

Alvarez, let us not forget, is a long-time ally of President Duterte and perhaps one of the few whose number could just be counted with one’s fingers who cast his lot with the then Davao City mayor’s presidential bid.

Of course, rumors had it that Arroyo heavily supported Duterte’s presidential bid. But this remains until today a mere rumor. And let’s leave this at that.

The question that is now in the mind of everyone is why Arroyo would risk the ire of the administration by reviving her dormant political party? Many believe she must have an agenda of her own now, hence this seemingly unthinkable move of abandoning the dominant PDP-Laban to reduce it into ashes.

Observers are now asking if Arroyo is not out to install herself as Prime Minister under a parliamentary-federal system of government. As a former President herself, in fact the longest staying president, nine and a half years, outside of the late Ferdinand Marcos’ 20-year rule, she knew it is easier to govern as Prime Minister in a parliamentary-federal system than in the present presidential form.

This possible intention will soon be unraveled if Arroyo lends a hand in fast-tracking Charter change that bears her own political agenda that may be diametrically opposed to Duterte’s.