CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – “Cabalens” of second district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo seem relatively silent over the fate of the former president who had showered them with infrastructure projects during her term, but there is no denying that she has both supporters and critics among them.
“She should have resigned as congresswoman on the day that charges were filed against her. The cases prevented her from fulfilling her duties to her constituents in the second district,” said Adonis Simpao, whom Mrs. Arroyo defeated in the congressional race in the second district in the 2011 elections.
Simpao also said the proposal to designate Ang Galing Pinoy partylist Rep. Mikey Arroyo is not acceptable. “The people of the second district did not elect him,” he noted.
Simpao, who ran as candidate of the Liberal Party in the last polls, said that should Mrs. Arroyo resign or removed from office, he preferred that special elections for Congress be held in the second district.
“That is being fair to the second district constituents who are now being deprived of representation in the House,” he added.
But for Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, perceived as a loyalist of the former president, it would be “quite unfair” to ask Mrs. Arroyo to resign.
“She was elected by the people and she has not been convicted of anything. We cannot compare her case to that of former congressman Singson who was convicted and jailed in Hong Kong when he was removed from Congress,” he said.
Pelayo, however, declined to comment on whether he would agree to having Mikey Arroyo as caretaker in the second district in the absence of her mother who is now under hospital arrest at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Arroyo’s close ally and friend Gov. Lilia Pineda said she wanted the former president to face and defend herself from all the accusations being hurled against her.
In a statement, Pineda said, however, that this could not happen while Arroyo remained in ill health, as she enjoined Kapampangans “to pray and seek Divine intervention for the immediate recovery and well-being of former President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.”
“Hinihiling ko na patuloy nating ipagdasal ang agarang paggaling ng ating dating Pangulong GMA (initials of the former president) ng sa ganoon ay maharap niya ang mga akusasyong ibinibintang sa kanya at maipagtanggol niya ang kanyang sarili.
(I am appealing for prayers for her immediate recovery so that she would be able to face all the accusations hurled against her and so she would be able to defend herself), “ Pineda said in a statement.
Arroyo has been confined at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig for several days now after an earlier aborted attempt to fly abroad for medical treatment. She was later charged with electoral sabotage by the Department of Justice and Commission on Elections joint committee last Friday.
The governor, a known close ally of the former president, said that she and fellow officials of the provincial government are hopeful that Arroyo would be “accorded the due process of law.”
“Sana magkaroon siya ng sapat na lakas ng katawan upang maidepensa niya ang kanyang sarili at sapat na tatag ng kalooban upang malampasan ang pagsubok na ito. (I hope she regains health to defend herself and take courage to that she would be able to bear her trials),” Pineda also said.
Earlier, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said that the former president’s eldest son Mikey may be designated as the caretaker of the second district of Pampanga.
Mikey left recently for the United States after the travel ban against him was lifted. Punto sent him a text message to get his view on the proposal, but he has not replied.
Belmonte said Mikey can be caretaker considering that he held his mother’s position from 2004 to 2010 before he ran as a party-list congressman.
The three other representatives of Pampanga who could also qualify are Carmelo Lazatin (first district), Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales (third district), and Anna York Bondoc (fourth district).
