Speaker Alvarez on reported ouster plot against him: ‘Kuwento lang ‘yun’

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Friday said he is unfazed by a report that said some congressmen are planning to oust him as leader of the House of Representatives and replace him with Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"Kuwento lang 'yun," Alvarez said in a chance interview in Tagum City, adding he is not afraid of such threats.

Asked on the status of his relationship with President Rodrigo Duterte, Alvarez said: "OK lang, walang pinagbago."

Alvarez had recently been lambasted online by Duterte's daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, over his comments on her move to launch a regional political party not affiliated with the ruling PDP-Laban.

Mayor Duterte, who has said she was open to running for a House seat, has also opened speculations that she may challenge Alvarez for the speakership should she win in the 2019 polls.

A news report said some congressmen from Mindanao have been going around northern Luzon to gather support to install Arroyo, a former president, as Speaker even though Arroyo herself has said she is not interested in the post.

The report also said the congressmen are planning to replace House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas with Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Jay Velasco. —Margaret Claire Layug/KBK, GMA News