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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Dapat lang': VP Sara in favor of House leadership change

'Dapat lang': VP Sara in favor of House leadership change

Published Sep 16, 2025 03:31 pm
Vice President Sara Duterte appears before a House panel to defend her office's proposed 2026 budget at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Santi San Juan/Manila Bulletin))
Vice President Sara Duterte appears before a House panel to defend her office's proposed 2026 budget at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Santi San Juan/Manila Bulletin))
Vice President Sara Duterte expressed support for moves to change Speaker Martin Romualdez at the leadership of the House of Representatives, noting some of the scandals attached to the official’s name.

“Dapat lang, dapat lang talaga, dahil nakita niyo naman yung budget--2023, 2024, 2025. Malamang agawan na naman niyan ng budget sa 2026 (Oh, rightfully so. It’s just right because you saw the budget—2023, 2024, 2025–more or less, they will fight over the 2026 budget, too),” she said in an interview on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

“At lahat yung mga past budgets natin, makita natin na (And all of those budgets as we have seen) it was under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez,” he added of her former ally and 2022 campaign manager.

Romualdez is reportedly being challenged by some lawmakers, most vocal of whom is Dasmariñas City Rep. Kiko Barzaga.

The Vice President, however, refused to back any lawmaker for the speakership, saying that she is far too busy at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to keep the Congress in mind.

She recalled advising President Marcos—her former running mate and ally—to choose a speaker who was not involved in alleged “bribery.”

“Nakalagay sa isang kaso doon sa America. Klarong-klaro na doon nakita na involved siya sa racketeering and sa bribery (There was a case in America. It was very clear that he was involved in racketeering and bribery),” Duterte said, referring to Romualdez.

“So, ikaw ba presidente ka? Ilalagay mo ba yung ganyang klaseng speaker? Siyempre hindi na diba? So, anong nangyari sa budget natin? Nag-raketeering din yung budget natin (So, as the president, are you going to trust that kind of speaker. Of course not, right? So, what happened to our budget? Our budget fell to racketeering, too),” she added.

Duterte also recalled informing Marcos about the corruption in the budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) when she was still its secretary, but the chief executive reportedly turned a blind eye to it.

Related Tags

VP Sara Duterte House Speaker Martin Romualdez House of Representatives Kiko Barzaga leadership change
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