Arroyo denies being ‘duped’ by lawmaker to stage House coup
MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga) on Sunday denied that she was fooled by another lawmaker to stage a coup at the lower chanber upon the go signal of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
This comes just a week after Macapagal-Arroyo was demoted to deputy speaker at the House of Representatives amid speculation that she was leading a destabilization plot to unseat House Speaker Rep. Martin Romualdez (Leyte), an accusation the former president also denied.
RELATED: Arroyo: No ambitions to be speaker, just here for district and to help leadership
In a statement published on her Facebook page on Sunday, Macapagal-Arroyo also apologized to the first lady after she was “dragged into this political fantasy of a House coup.”
“Whoever is spreading these pathetic rumors are the ones duping the Filipino people and they should now move on to the serious business of making positive contributions to national progress,” Macapagal-Arroyo said.
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo denies rumors that she was "duped" by a congresswoman into planning a coup against House Speaker Romualdez after being told the plan had the blessings of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.@PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/zWt9AUPMKM
— Cristina Chi ???? (@chicristina_) May 28, 2023
Macapagal-Arroyo also pointed out her role in creating the UniTeam, the coalition of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara “Inday” Duterte, and said she would “never take any action to destroy it.”
She also said that any plans for a coup in the lower House will not succeed without the blessing of the chief executive.
The lawmaker has been with the chief executive in several of his overseas travels and she was even called his “secret weapon” during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Thailand last year.
READ: President Marcos: Arroyo demotion run of the mill in House
Last week, Macapagal-Arroyo also noted that her actions may have been misunderstood by some, noting of her recent South Korea trip with a delegation of lawmakers for some meetings.
“I did not have any conversation, here or abroad, with any congressman or congresswoman, or any other politician active or retired, to plot, support, encourage or participate in any way in any alleged House coup,” she said on Sunday. — with reports from Cristina Chi
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