‘Romualdez is my VP’
2022 run gets presidential backing He is a good person, if he wants it then I will support him
President Rodrigo Duterte declared yesterday he will back Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as candidate for the Vice Presidency in 2022.
In an exclusive pre-State of the Nation Address interview with the Daily Tribune yesterday, Mr. Duterte said “Romualdez is my VP.”
“He is a good person, if he
wants it then I will support him,” Mr. Duterte said.
Romualdez is one of three strong candidates for the Speakership, the other two being Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
On the hotly-contested top position of the House, the President said the term-sharing proposal was not written on stone since he only presented it as part of an effort to settle the dispute.
Romualdez has accepted the position as House Majority Leader following the President’s formula on the House leadership issue.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said the acceptance was made after Romualdez met 72 of his supporters in a hotel in Ortigas, Pasig City.
Rody’s wishes followed
“We unanimously agreed to follow the wish of the President on the Speakership, and Martin is accepting the position of Majority Leader… no ifs or buts, no except or unless,” Salceda said.
In a speech during the oath-taking of newly appointed officials in Malacañang Monday, Duterte announced that Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano is his bet for Speaker, a position he will share with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
Meanwhile, Romualdez would be the Majority Leader.
Salceda said the lawmakers have asked the incoming Majority Leader to develop robust and dynamic relations with the new Speaker.
“With the new leadership, the House of Representatives is now ready to deliver efficiently and effectively the national agenda, contribute inputs to the agenda and mobilize national consensus and public support to the Duterte program that would sustain the economic takeoff of the Philippines and spread its fruits leaving no one behind,” he said.
“We express our full confidence in the ability of Speaker Cayetano as co-pilot of the President in our journey to shared prosperity,” Salceda added.
Palace stays clear
Malacañang distanced itself from the proposal of Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano to push for longer term limits for lawmakers, stressing that public sentiment matters more.
Panelo said he would not preempt the wisdom of the lawmakers on Cayetano’s proposed measure.
“Well, the decision would always lie with the members of Congress, because they are the ones passing the bill,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing on Thursday.
But when asked if the Palace will favor a term extension for lawmakers, Panelo described his opinion as “irrelevant” unlike the public sentiment.
“Mine is irrelevant at this stage. I think more relevant would be what the people want,” Panelo said.
He also floated the idea of conducting a survey to find our whether or not Filipinos agreed to a longer term for lawmakers.
We unanimously agreed to follow the wish of the President on the Speakership and Martin is accepting the position of Majority Leader.
Romualdez has accepted the position as House Majority Leader following the President’s formula on the House leadership issue.
“I think they should conduct a survey on the sentiments of the people, whether or not they agree on that proposal. And I’m sure since that has been floated, there will be opinions being expressed by many sectors,” he added.
Cayetano said he wanted to extend the terms of members of the House of Representatives to either four years with no term limits or five years with term limits.
He explained that a term extension would make lawmakers more productive and give them more time to focus on crafting bills.
At present, members of the House can serve for three consecutive three-year terms.