Arroyo brushes off rumors she'll be appointed Finance chief
MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga) on Tuesday said speculations that she’s eyeing to take the helm of the Department of Finance are “so hypothetical.”
Arroyo, president from 2001 to 2010, made the remarks when asked by reporters about rumors she will replace Carlos Dominguez III as Finance chief during a chance interview after a congressional hearing on the DOF’s proposed tax reform.
A transcript of the interview was sent to journalists.
The DOF is responsible for the sound and efficient management of the government’s financial resources of the government.
Arroyo, who has a doctorate in economics and is an old friend of President Rodrigo Duterte, has been playing an important role in the current administration’s fight against inflation, which stayed at a nine-year peak in October.
She was elected as the country’s first woman House speaker following the dramatic removal of Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte) from the post last July.
In 2016, the political heavyweight Arroyo was freed after being detained for five years for graft and election fraud. She said she has no plan to seek any public office when her third and last term as representative of Pampanga’s second district ends in June next year. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
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