House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (Speaker’s office, Malacañang photo)

Mindanao-based congressmen continue to compliment Speaker Martin Romualdez's leadership despite former president Rodrigo Duterte's disparaging statements against the latter and the House of Representatives in general. 

Duterte is a former longtime Davao City mayor and considers Mindanao as his turf. 

But that doesn't seem to matter for South Cotabato 1st district Rep. Peter Miguel, Misamis Oriental 1st district Rep. Christian Unabia, and Misamis Oriental 2nd district Rep. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, as they praised Romualdez following the results of OCTA Research’s 2023 third quarter survey. 

The survey showed that Romualdez’s trust and approval ratings sat at 60 percent and 61 percent. respectively. These are historically high figures for a House Speaker. 

“It simply means we’re on the right track. It resonated with the general public. At least, everything that we did went not just for naught,” Miguel said in a statement, adding that he is "proud and grateful". 

He pointed to all the priority bills the House passed under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). 

“It’s a job well done. We’re obviously making progress here because the institution he (Romualdez) represents is also the institution where we belong [to]. So, it’s best that we help each other for the sake of the Filipino people who expect a lot from us,” Miguel said. 

"The Speaker's heart is at the right place...All our efforts under the leadership of Speaker have paid off," Unabia said in a separate statement.  

Unabia hailed Romualdez for his exemplary leadership in helping government bring down the prices of basic commodities. He said this shows the House leader's compassion for the poor and the marginalized who have have been mostly affected by fast inflation. 

“The Speaker has always been focused on his job. He made it clear to us that passing the LEDAC bills meant improving the lives of our countrymen who have been struggling with life at every turn, and even worsened by the pandemic and record-high inflation,” he remarked.   

Meanwhile, in another statement, Emano underscored that “The trust given by the people to Speaker Romualdez mirrors the trust they also give to the institution he leads." 

Emano said this can all be explained by the record productivity of the 300-300-plus strong House of Representatives. 

“We hope to go beyond this or at least replicate this productivity for the year 2023. In fact, as Congress takes a one-month break and resumes in November, Speaker Romualdez encouraged all committees to continue hearing bills,” Emano noted. 

“This illustrates the commitment of Speaker Romualdez and members of the House in fulfilling their duty to the Filipino people," he further said. 

Earlier this month, former president Duterte assailed the House for removing the P650-million confidential funds sought by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd). Both agencies are under Vice President Sara Duterte, the ex-president's daughter. 

The elder Duterte had alleged that Romualdez orchestrated the attacks on the Vice President. This, despite the fact that the Leyte 1st district congressman acted as one of the lady official's campaign managers in the 2022 national elections. 

The former chief executive had also said that Congress was the "most rotten institution" in the country. The elder Duterte was a House member from 1998 to 2001.