Several House members in the current 19th Congress and upcoming 20th Congres posted photos of themselves in what appeared to be a meeting Thursday, May 29 with Speaker Martin Romualdez.

On Friday, May 30, Deputy Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V shared to reporters to what happened during the meeting, which took place at the House of Representatives. 

Apparently, attaining a smooth transition was the top agenda.

"Admin matters naman yon. Ginagawa naman talaga parang transition yon ng 19th to the 20th Congress (Those were admin matters. That is normally done, it's like the transition from the 19th to the 20th Congress)," Ortega said.

Leaders of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), Nacionalista Party (NP), National Unity Party (NUP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), and the Party-list Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI) attended the meeting. 

It took place right after the 8th Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting held in Malacañang.

Ortega said the various parties' respective initiatives or measures were discussed during the meeting.

"Siyempre may mga kaniya-kaniyang pet na bills yan saka mga gustong iusad tsaka ilaban na mga measures (Of course they have their respective pet bills and key measures that they want to push and fight for)," he noted.

The recently reelected lawmaker from La Union said the meeting wasn't political in nature. 

'"Parang halos lahat ng napag-usapan admin matters. Hindi political yong meeting kung di yong internal ng House compositions, committees, number nung bagong congressman, numbers ng mga outgoing. Kasi during the -- before the sine die [adjournment] di ba nagbibigay din po tayo ng recognition sa mga nag-last term. Yong mga natapos po yong nine years.

(It seems like the discussion was almost entirely administrative. The meeting wasn’t political but rather focused on internal matters of the House, such as its composition, committees, the number of incoming congressmen, and the number of outgoing members. Before the sine die adjournment, there is also a tradition of recognizing those who are completing their final term. The ones who have served for nine years.)

"Actually yong mga naunang napag-usapan pa nga room assignments eh. So sobrang admin matters talaga yong talks ng meeting namin (In fact, earlier discussions even touched on room assignments. So overall, the meeting was heavily centered on admin matters)," Ortega said.

In a statement Friday, Ortega said that those who attended the meeting also hailed Romualdez for steering the House of Representatives to unprecedented heights during his S

speakership.

“We discussed admin matters at hindi lang near-perfect ang record ng House sa pamumuno ni Speaker Romualdez, historic pa. Napatunayan na natin ang kalibre ng leadership ni Speaker.

(We discussed admin matters, and under Speaker Romualdez's leadership, the House has not only maintained a near-perfect record but has also achieved historic milestones. We have truly proven the caliber of the Speaker’s leadership.)

That’s why we’re seeing overwhelming support across party lines: 280 out of 285 lawmakers who expressed support for his speakership have already signed a manifesto backing him as Speaker for the 20th Congress,” Ortega said.