MANILA, Philippines — Incumbent Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is vying for reelection in Congress, filing her certificate of candidacy with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, October 5.
Arroyo will be running under Lakas-CMD, a political party led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Should she be reelected, this will be her second term as a district representative after sitting out the 18th Congress.
Arroyo had been a House lawmaker for four terms and is trying for her fifth in the 2025 midterm elections.
She held the position for nine years from 2010 to 2019, succeeding her son Mikey Arroyo. It was also Mikey who switched places with her during her break from 2019 to 2022.
Arroyo also served as the House of Representatives’ speaker in 2018 under the Duterte administration.
While she was appointed senior deputy speaker under the Marcos administration, House leaders removed her from the position in November 2023 for not signing a resolution condemning criticisms against the lower chamber and its leaders.
In filing her COC, Arroyo was accompanied by Pampanga Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda, his mother Vice Governor Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda and local officials from the province’s 2nd District.
A Duterte ally
The former president has consistently shown her support for the Duterte family.
Arroyo attempted to defend former President Rodrigo Duterte from the International Criminal Court’s investigation into his war on drugs by filing House Resolution 780 in February 2023.
She immediately came to the Vice President Sara Duterte’s side when the latter faced criticism from other lawmakers during budget deliberations on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2025 budget.
State auditors have flagged multiple expenditures of the OVP under its socioeconomic program and issued a notice of disallowance concerning the agency’s use of P73 million in confidential and intelligence funds in 2022.
Even at the House inquiry into the alleged misuse of funds by the OVP and the Department of Education, which Sara headed, Arroyo defended Sara’s refusal to take oath as a resource person.
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Arroyo was acquitted of plunder charges in July 2016 and expressed her gratitude to Rodrigo for “providing the atmosphere” that enabled her to clear her name.
She faced cases of electoral sabotage in 2011 and misuse of state lottery funds, but was only given hospital arrest due to the health conditions she had.
