Tuesday, fune 11, 2019
Ligfttweights for Speaker
(( J am the Steaker,I can al-
I ways impeach the Presi-
I dent," Speaker Pantale-
on Ah.arez was supposed to have
boasted aceording to the Presi-
dent's daughter Sara Duterte-
Carpio. Il he did, he must have
considered himself in a position
of power However, Mr. Alvarez
denied he made such a statement.
whether he did say it or not,
the fact is that the Spealership
is a position of power. When
Manuel Villar vras the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, he
caused the impeachment of then
President Joseph Estrada, Sec-
onds after the opening prayer,
and dispe:rsing with the tradi-
tional roll-call, Speaker Villar
read a resolution signed by more
than two-thirds of the members
of the House sending the im-
peachment case to the Senate
for trial.
The Speaker is the presiding
ofrcer of the House of Represen-
' tatives. His duties and powers are
as follows:
a prepare the le$slati'e agenda
for wery regular session, establish
EBterDs and procedures to ensure
fi{l deliberation and swift approral
of measures includedtherei$
b. conduct regular monthly
caucus of all members or groups
thereofor as often as maybe neces-
sary to discuss priority measures
and-to facilitate dialoeiue, consen-
sus and action on issues and con-
cerns a.ffecting the House and the
performance of its fu nctions;
c. exercise general supervision
over all committees and, in fur-
ttrerance thereof, conduct regular
montl y meetings witlt tlte chair-
persons and vice-chai4lersons of
all standing and special co'nlnit-
, tees to setlegislative targets, review
performance in the attainment
of targets, ensure that the prior-
ity legislati!€ measures of co[unit-
tees are attuned to the legislative
agenda of the House, and resolve
such other issues ard concems that
affect the opemtions and perfor-
mance of the committees.
Butfew months after Speaker
a Communications in 2001.
Alvarez was said to have boasted
he could impeach the President,
he was removed from the Speak-
ership. A number of congressmen
told mass media reporters that
tlle Presidenfs daughter sara had
a hand ifi the ouster of Mr. A.lvarez
as Speaker. Ms. Duterte-Carpio
denied she had anything to do
with Mr. Alvarez! fall. But Presi-
dent Duterte said in a speech dur-
ing the ,r4th Philippine Business
Conference and E4>o, 'tse careful
with that woman. This is a female.
She operated in Davao ari mayor.
Look at what happered in Con-
gress, (Alvarez) was ousted."
The fact that Mr. Alvarez was
removed from the Speakership
by the mayor of a provincial city,
a theword
"female" at that, to use
of the misogynist President,
showed that Mr. Alvarez was a po-
litical lightweight !'ulnerable to
the schemes of the wily, the ambi-
tious, and the more powerful.
\ 'p\qz- - b /sttr
Mr. Alvarez graduated from
Ateneo Law School in 1983. He
we.nt into private practice of
law in 1984, In 1992, he became
an action officer at the Manila
Ilternational Airport Author-
ity (MIAA). He was promoted to
chief operating officer of MIAA
in 1995, a position he held until
September 1997.
He v'as elected representative
of the 1st District of Davao del
Norte in 1998. President Gloria
Arroyo appointed him acting
Secretary of Transportation and
He was elected again as repre-
sentative in 2016. Newlv elected
Piisidlni Duterte -ud" known
to his political allies in the lTth
Con$ess that his preference for
Speaker was his proYince mate
and long-time friend. When the
daughter of the President turned
against Speaker Alvarez for what-
ever reason, whether it was the
alleged braggadocio of Mr. A]va-
rez or the political agenda of the
President's daughter, Mr. Alvarez
was toppled from his pedestal.
While the Speakership is a
position of po$/et tlre person oc-
cupying it must be equal to the
position. He or she must hirnself
or herselfbe powerful, lest he or
shebecome erpendable.
?he Speaker must be a per-
son of $avitas, Before he aspires
for the Speakeiship, he should
already be a person of achieve-
ments. He should have attained
national recognition for his ac-
complishments; he should be a
political $ant and leader of a ma-
jor political party; and he shoutd
have the staunch suPPort of t}le
president. Many past SPeakers -
from the Commonwealth Years,
through the post-World War II
er4 to the post-martial law Period
- were such men.
The very first Speaker, Ser$o
Osmena, Sr., belonged to the rich
alrd promineDt chinese-FiliPino
. family with vast business in-
terests in Cebu. IIe served as a
courier and journalist in tlle war
staff of Emilio Aguinaldo during
tlle Philippine-American War, He
placed second in the 3rd Philip-
pine Bar exams (1903). He was
governor of Cebu before he was
elected speaker of the lirst Na-
tional Assembly in 1907.
The second Speaker was Man-
uel A. Roxas. He was a descen-
dant of Antonio Roxas y Ureta,
the brotier of Domingo Roxas y
Uret4 the progenitor ofthe R6xas
de Ayal6 aIId Z6bel deAyala clalls.
He graduated as valedictorian
from the University of tlle Philip-
pines School'of Law and subse-
quently topped the bar exams of
1913. He was governor of Capiz
before he was elected speaker,
Jose Yulo placed 3rd in tlle bar
exam6 ofl9l3. Because he was un-
derage, he was not allowed to prac-
tice Law until two years later. He
became lnown as one of the best
corporation lanYers of his time.
He helped draft the Philippine
corporaiion law. At first, he de-