Majority Leader and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez has now gained the endorsements of the top two incoming officials of the land as far as his House Speakership bid in the 19th Congress is concerned.
This, after presumptive vice president Sara Duterte led Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party officials in signing a resolution on Monday, May 23 endorsing Romualdez for the top House post.
The endorsement of Romualdez is contained in Resolution No. 05, Series of 2022, which the party’s executive committee (execom) approved.
Duterte serves as co-chairman of Lakas-CMD, along with Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. Romualdez is the party president.
Earlier this month, presumptive president Bongbong Marcos pegged the Leyte solon as the next speaker, given the latter's steady stream of backers.
Marcos and Duterte comprised the UniTeam tandem during the May 9 elections.
The approval of the resolution followed a previous appeal on May 14 from comebacking Pampanga 2nd Rep. and former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is Lakas-CMD president emeritus, for party members to support Romualdez for the speakership.
In its resolution, the party said, “With the conclusion of the May 9, 2022 national and local elections, there is a need to set aside politics and work together for economic recovery brought on by the pandemic.”
It said that Lakas-CMD has always been committed to nation building as a national political party.
“In order to be an effective partner in passing much needed legislation, the House of Representatives must be under the leadership of a strong leader. Lakas-CMD believes that its President, Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, can lead the House of Representatives into being an effective partner of the incoming (Marcos) administration,” the resolution stated.
The party resolved to endorse and support Romualdez “to run for and be voted as Speaker in the 19th Congress.”
Other parties that have declared their support for the incumbent majority leader include the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), National Unity Party (NUP), Nacionalista Party (NP), Liberal Party (LP), Party-list Coalition Foundation, Inc. (PCFI), Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), independents, and the group of neophyte solons.
Romualdez’s endorsers now comprise an overwhelming majority of the members of the 300-strong House.