Arroyo denies plotting to oust Speaker Bojie Dy

MANILA, Philippines – Former president and Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo disputed reports that claimed she was orchestrating an ouster plot against House Speaker Bojie Dy.

“I categorically deny the allegations concerning the supposed ouster of Speaker Bojie Dy that surfaced yesterday,” Arroyo said in a statement on Friday, April 10.

“I reaffirm my confidence in his leadership of the House of Representatives. Our mutual support, which began many years ago with his late father, remains unbroken,” she added.

Politiko and Bilyonaryo News Channel, citing an unnamed source, reported on Thursday, April 9, that Vice President Sara Duterte was convincing her ally Arroyo to make a bid for the speakership. The reports claimed that Arroyo does not have the numbers to oust Dy.

The rumor comes on the heels of the first public impeachment hearing against Duterte on April 14, which is set to feature subpoenaed pieces of evidence never made public, and key witnesses such as Ramil Madriaga, Duterte’s alleged former bagman.

Dy already grappled with coup rumors last year, but Majority Leader Sandro Marcos stood by the House’s top leader in February, saying that “everyone is confident and happy with the leadership of Speaker Bojie.”

Weeks later, Deputy Speaker and National Unity Party president Ronaldo Puno expressed dissatisfaction over Dy’s leadership amid budget woes hounding congressional districts.

This prompted Dy to deliver a strongly worded speech aimed at the Department of Budget and Management, urging the agency to expedite its processes so government resources can reach the public on time.

As for Arroyo, this is not the first time that she has been accused of plotting to oust a speaker.

She was installed the country’s fourth highest leader in 2018 after a successful coup against Pantaleon Alvarez.

In 2023, she was stripped of the deputy speakership amid persistent rumors that she was plotting to unseat her longtime mentee, then-speaker Martin Romualdez. – Rappler.com