Alvarez holds on to speakership

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao Del Norte) won't give up the speakership without a fight.

Asked who the leader of House of Representatives is after tension with Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Pampanga) earlier on Monday, Alvarez replied in a chance interview: "It seems it's still me."

Arroyo on Monday took her oath as the House of Representatives' new speaker, apparently replacing Alvarez during a crucial time in government efforts to amend the constitution.

The session hall of the House of Representatives was tense as lawmakers from both camps worked to get the needed 147 votes to secure the position for Alvarez or unseat him and elect Arroyo.

Talks about the ouster of Alvarez had been rife in recent months, most especially after his public rift with the daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who has formed a regional party in Mindanao.

The apparent standoff between the two officials — Arroyo stayed at the rostrum at the House session hall while Alvarez greeted President Rodrigo Duterte when he arrived for the SONA — delayed the president's speech by close to an hour.

In the end, it was Alvarez who sat to the president's left during the joint session.