HOUSE SUPERMAJORITY PICKS MARTIN ROMUALDEZ SPEAKER
THE supermajority of the House of Representatives on Monday elected Leyte Rep. Martin G. Romualdez as the 24th Speaker of the House of Representatives, a post that many said suited him well, given his long experience and track record in shepherding legislation, especially as majority leader of the House during the pandemic.
In his acceptance speech, Romualdez vowed to push for “unity” towards pandemic recovery.
“We are entering the endemic stages and we are confident that with the unity that our President has espoused, we can actually overcome the crippling effects of this pandemic, and of course the political differences that occurred in the recent elections, as well as the global impact, such as the Ukrainian war,” Romualdez said.
“The tasks ahead of us may be seemingly daunting. But our synergy is the seed that will nurture us for the next three years. We will work together to ensure that the House of Representatives truly embodies the will of the people. We will work handin-hand to ensure the swift passage of House measures that are needed by the people and would support development across all sectors of society and different levels of government. With unity of purpose, there is nothing that we cannot do,” he added.
Romualdez also committed to be as fair as possible and to favor no one.
“As your Speaker, I vow to attend to all the concerns of your constituents. There will be fair and equitable distribution of resources for development of our regions, regardless of political affiliation. Every Filipino family must be included in any development agenda. No one gets left behind,” he said.
Romualdez, who was unopposed in the speakership race, secured a total of 283 votes.
Twenty-two lawmakers did not vote in the speakership race, four lawmakers abstained and one voted against.
Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos nominated Romualdez as Speaker and seconded by Batangas 6th District Rep. Ralph G. Recto, Davao City Rep. Isidro T. Ungab (Lakaschristian Muslim Democrats), Antipolo City 1st District Rep. Roberto V. Puno (National Unity Party), Las Piñas City Rep. Camille A. Villar (Nacionalista Party), Ilocos Sur Rep. Kristine Singson-meehan (Nationalist People’s Coalition), Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza, and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio ‘Dong’ Gonzales Jr. (Pdp-laban).
Romualdez also took his oath as the 24th Speaker before Tarlac Rep. Jaime D. Cojuangco, youngest member of the 19th Congress at age 25. His wife, Tingog partylist Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez, and his children also joined him in the ceremony.
Juliette Romualdez, mother of Speaker Romualdez; Philip Romualdez and his wife, Sandy Prieto also witnessed the event.
House officials
MEANWHILE, Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose “Mannix” M. Dalipe was elected House Majority Leader. Cavite Rep. Lani Revilla nominated him for the post.
Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a former Speaker and now comebacking congresswoman from Pampanga, was elected senior Deputy Speaker during Monday›s session.
The House of Representatives also elected Reps. Isidro Ungab, Roberto Puno, Camille Villar, Christine Singson-meehan, and Democrito Mendoza as deputy speakers.
Reginald “Reggie” Velasco and retired PMGEN. Napoleon C. Taas were elected as House Secretary General and Sergeant-at-arms, respectively.
Vice President Sara Duterte physically witnessed the election of Romualdez as Speaker.
Romualdez stood as one of Duterte’s campaign managers in the last presidential elections.
Most qualified
ROMUALDEZ is the most qualified member of the House of Representatives to lead the chamber in the 19th Congress, according to lawmakers who nominated him.
In his remarks, Rep. Marcos said he was endorsing the Leyte congressman for the speakership not because of “familial relations” but on the strength of his qualifications.
“With unity at the core of the government as our shared vision for the next six years, the House of Representatives requires—now more than ever—a leader that embodies inclusivity, possesses unquestionable competency, and feels genuinely for the people we are all dutybound to serve,” Marcos said.
“In his 12 solid years of legislative experience, he is best known as a consensus-builder. Regarded with great affection and respect by most if not all members of this institution, no matter where they are on the political spectrum. We know that it is not an easy feat for a person to listen to and consolidate support from more than 300 elected officials, all of whom are leaders in their own right, yet Representative Romualdez seems to have found this balance,” Marcos said.
Marcos added that Romualdez listens to and values the opinion of everyone and works hard.
“Because of this positive trait, he, along with other members of the 18th Congress, were able to usher with expediency the two critical Bayanihan bills in the House of Representatives during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, just when the country needed these laws the most,” he stressed.
“With him as the House Majority Leader, Congress was able to pass laws supportive of economic growth such as the CREATE Law, as well as measures amending the Public Service Act and the Foreign Investments Act of 1991.
Such accomplishments have shown that he is able to strike a healthy equilibrium between economic interests and public welfare,” he said.
In supporting Marcos’s nomination of the Leyte congressman for the speakership, Rep. Ralph Recto, a former senator, said: “Representative Romualdez can shepherd the bills that can help our country as skillfully as he can stop the ones that harm our people.”
“He knows the policies that need to be crafted and the pragmatism to get them passed. I am confident that with him, a constitutionalist, at the helm, he will keep the plenary a hospitable space for all opinions, while keeping the conveyor belt of laws moving,” Recto said.
Recto described Romualdez as “a workhorse, in a political culture which tempts many to become show horses.”
“While others chase headlines, he searches for good bills instead, and whenever he finds one, he does not loudly annotate a work in progress through tweets, but lets the finished product speak for itself. Well, brilliance has no need for a bullhorn,” he said.
He said Romualdez has mastered the process of consultation and consensus.
Romualdez was author of three annual national budgets and the two Bayanihan measures (Bayanihan to Heal as One Act or Bayanihan 1 and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2), which were approved at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The other laws that he pushed are the Covid-19 Vaccination Act of 2021, Malasakit Centers Act, Alternative Learning System Act, Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or CREATE, Bureau of Fire and Protection Modernization Act, Salary Standardization Act of 2019, and Republic Act 11517, which empowers the President to expedite the processing and issuance of national and local permits, licenses and certifications in times of national emergency.
Romualdez finished his undergraduate studies with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York in 1985.
In 1988, he obtained a Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management from Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.
He then proceeded to law school, earning his Bachelor of Laws from the College of Law of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, in 1992.