285 lawmakers back Romualdez as House speaker
A total of 285 incoming representatives, including four of the six Liberal Party (LP) members, in the 20th Congress will be backing the continuity of Speaker Martin Romualdez’s leadership at the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker David Suarez said on Sunday.
Suarez, who was reelected Quezon second district representative, said in a statement that the massive support for Romualdez’s continued leadership in the next Congress showed the reelected Leyte first district lawmaker remained the “most unifying, competent and effective choice” to lead the chamber in the second half of the Marcos administration.
“As of today, 285 House members have expressed support for Speaker Romualdez, with 278 lawmakers having already signed formal declarations, including four out of six members of the LP who are now part of the larger movement for legislative continuity and national stability,” he said.
Suarez noted that Romualdez has earned the trust of the current and incoming lawmakers of the 316-member House through principled, results-oriented leadership, adding, “what we are witnessing is no longer just support from traditional allies—it’s a political groundswell cutting across the entire spectrum.”
Suarez also noted that Romualdez is also heeding the President’s call for results-oriented leadership, as demonstrated by the House of Representatives’ swift approval of the majority of priority measures aligned with the Chief Executive’s legislative agenda.
Broad coalition
He said the House supermajority bloc now included the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats or Lakas-CMD, the Nacionalista Party, the National Unity Party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc., and the LP.
“Leadership in the House is about bringing people together to pass meaningful laws. Speaker Romualdez has done that, time and again,” Suarez said. “The unity we now see among House members reflects a collective commitment to stability, progress, and responsible governance under his stewardship.”
Lawmakers have credited Romualdez’s leadership in the 19th Congress for the timely passage of national budgets, the advancement of vital economic reforms and the House’s seamless collaboration with the executive branch.
“He has kept the House focused on outcomes that matter. That’s what institutions need—leaders who work quietly but deliver consistently,” Suarez said.
Will reelected Rep. Paolo Duterte of Davao City’s first district rise up to challenge Romualdez as his sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, had been urging him to do?
The congressman kept mum and refused to release a statement to the media, a source close to him told the Inquirer.
The Vice President earlier told reporters in Davao City that she had been urging her brother to eye the speakership after he won by an overwhelming vote in the city’s first district during the recent elections.
Asked whether the Dutertes could muster enough numbers to wrest the speakership of the House, she only said that if her brother could not win as speaker, then he should gun for the minority leadership in the House. —WITH A REPORT FROM GERMELINA LACORTE
