Speaker: Relations with Vice President Sara ‘very good’

SAN FRANCISCO — Speaker Martin Romualdez described as “very good” his relationship with Vice President Sara Duterte in the wake of speculations that the administration’s UniTeam coalition already has cracks.

“Very good,” Romualdez told reporters here last Saturday.

He also denied that there is an effort to impeach her in the House of Representatives.

“I am not aware of any. Nothing filed. No news on that,” Romualdez said.

Asked where Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. France Castro may have gotten her information about the supposed attempt to impeach Duterte, Romualdez replied: “I don’t know your sources. There is nothing in the offing, nothing in general.”

The Vice President, for her part, says she still enjoys President Marcos’ trust amid reports that cracks have formed within the UniTeam coalition, the political ticket that launched the pair to a landslide victory in last year’s elections.

“We’re OK. I believe that I still have the trust of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” Duterte said.

Additionally, the Vice President said her office was conducting due diligence on rumors that the House was allegedly plotting an impeachment complaint against her.

“We will release a comment at the appropriate time,” she added.

Asked about her political aspirations, Duterte said she had no intentions to run for President in the 2028 elections.

“I never really aspired to run for vice president, much more for President. I’ve said that before,” she said.

Rumors that there is an infighting among allies of President Marcos floated after  former president and now Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was abruptly demoted from senior deputy speaker to deputy speaker.

House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe had said Arroyo was replaced by Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr.  to “unburden” her “of the heavy load required from the position.” There were speculations that Arroyo lost her post because she had sought to oust Romualdez but she denied this.

After Arroyo was stripped of her post, Duterte resigned from the dominant Lakas-CMD party.

Talks about the supposed bickering in the UniTeam alliance were fueled further by the decision of the House of