Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would not be receiving any special treatment from her fellow congressmen, and she had not been offered the supposed “privilege” of holding office at a room bigger than the usual offices at the House of Representatives.
Arroyo’s former presidential chief of staff, Elena Bautista-Horn, clarified that Arroyo had not been offered to stay at the special room at the House of Representatives as reported. “She told me that she has not been offered that room,” Bautista said.
The VIP room that was supposed to have been offered to Arroyo is the room adjacent to the Speaker’s office which was given as consolation to Pangasinan Rep. Jose De Venecia when he was ousted as Speaker in 2008. Dionisio Tubianosa, an information officer in Congress, said Arroyo might be avoiding any special treatment for her, which she won’t be expecting anyway from her peers in Congress.
Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II, who is eyeing the post of majority floor leader, said fellow congressmen should not be intimidated by the presence of a former president on the floor of Congress, although she might receive extraordinary courtesy from individual congressmen on a personal level.
“As much as possible, no special treatment. But on a personal level, you have to give respect that is due to a former president. Even if you say that in the House, the Speaker is the first among equals, you cannot close the fact that she was once the president,” Gonzales said.
Posts Tagged ‘gloria arroyo’
No Special Treatment For Cong. Arroyo
by admin, on Fri, Jul 9 2010 | No CommentsGloria Macapagal Arroyo To Run For Congressional Seat in Pampanga
by admin, on Mon, Nov 30 2009 | No Comments
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has formally announced in the government-owned radio station dzRB this Monday that she will vie for the Congressional seat in the second district of Pampanga for the coming 2010 election. The second district of Pampanga is composed of the municipalities of Floridablanca, Guagua, Porac, Santa Rita, Sasmuan and Lubao.
In a recorded interview aired over the station, Arroyo said: “Gaya ng alam ninyo, hiniling rin ako ng mga mamayan ng aking tahanang distrito sa Pampanga na manatili sa buhay publiko (As you all know, the residents of Pampanga’s second district have urged me to remain in public service).”
“After much soul-searching, I have decided to respond affirmatively to their call. To that end, I will file my (certificate of) candidacy for Congress in order to serve the hardworking people of my home province,” she said. Mrs. Arroyo added: “I am not ready to step down completely from public service.”
On her formal statement Pres. Arroyo said, “I have given careful consideration to a number of options that I could pursue upon leaving office, but I have come to the conclusion that I can best serve the nation from a seat in Congress should I be elected. This campaign and a seat in Congress will satisfy the call of my constituents and my own desire for public service.”
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