Romualdez set to be named House Speaker

Rep. Martin Romualdez of Leyte’s first congressional district is expected to win the support of the majority of House members and become the 19th Congress’ House Speaker, a lawmaker said on Sunday. Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. said Romualdez deserves to lead the House as he “politely and patiently” waited for his time to become Speaker.

“We will elect him as our Speaker. He has the full support of our party, PDP Laban, and almost all political groups in the House led by his own Lakas-CMD, which he heads as president,” the former deputy speaker said. In 2019, Romualdez was running for the Speakership but settled for the position of majority leader to preserve camaraderie and unity in the House. “Forbearance and the capacity for selfsacrifice are his virtues. And the time has now come for him to be our leader,” Gonzales said. He also noted that Romualdez had spent years honing his skills as a politician and parliamentarian. Those skills would come in handy in support of the legislative and unity agenda of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos.

Meanwhile, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers echoes Gonzales’ sentiment. The Mindanao lawmaker praised Romualdez’s accomplishments in serving as House Majority Leader under former Speakers Lord Allan Velasco and Alan Peter Cayetano.

He said Romualdez is known as a consensus-builder who helped stabilize political turmoil among members of the august chamber during the reported Velasco-Cayetano speakership rift two years ago. Moreover, the solon cited Romualdez for guiding the House minority and majority members in passing important laws like the Bayanihan 1 and 2 to address the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s an honor and a privilege to vote for MajoRomualdez as House Speaker for the 19th Congress, he being a consensus-builder and a hard-working lawmaker who can go beyond the political divide just to ensure the timely passage of former President Duterte’s priority measures,” Barbers said. He said Romualdez presided over the Defeat Covid-19 Ad-Hoc Committee, which put in extra effort to meet with stakeholders and consult them while developing strategies to lessen the negative consequences of the pandemic.