Majority leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos confirmed that Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez "had the numbers" among his congressman-colleagues up to the resigned as House Speaker.

In a chance interview with reporters on Wednesday, Sept. 17--mere minutes after Romualdez tendered his resignation in plenary session--Rep. Marcos was asked whether or not the Leyte congressman had lost the trust of the chamber.

"He had the numbers. Simple lang yun (It's that simple)," said the presidential son, who was mentored by Romualdez.

"Kung nasa iyo yung numero (If you have the numbers), you have the Speakership. He had the numbers," Rep. Marcos said.

According to the majority leader, "[The] magic number is 158." This represents half the number of the House members, plus one.

For a Speaker to walk away despite having the clear majority support of members, and this early in a given Congress, is extraordinary.

Romualdez said he only did so, so as not to impede the investigation of the Palace-created Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI), which was tasked to look into anomalous or "ghost" flood control projects. Several lawmakers have been implicated in the controversy.

Isabela 6th district Rep. Faustino "Bojie" Dy III succeeded Romualdez as Speaker after nominal voting wherein he was the lone nominee.

Romualdez, president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party, served as Speaker for three years during the previous 19th Congress and for 52 days in the current 20th Congress.

In meeting before his resignation, Romualdez had asked party leaders to support Dy.

Also during plenary session Wednesday, the House of Representatives adopted House Resolution (HR) No. 287, which commended Romualdez for what members described as distinguished and transformative leadership that strengthened legislation in the chamber.

The measure notes that under Romualdez’s “competent and prudent leadership", the chamber achieved unprecedented legislative productivity, acting on 13,971 measures, approving 1,597 and turning more than 350 into laws during the 19th Congress.

This set "a new standard for efficiency and purpose in Philippine legislative history", said the authors who included Dy, Rep. Marcos, and Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan.

It also cited the ex-Speaker's commitment to oversight and accountability, as it pointed to investigations into agricultural smuggling, irregular power costs and misuse of public funds.

By ensuring that “the House exercised its oversight functions with diligence and integrity,” Romualdez reinforced transparency and good governance.

The resolution stressed that Romualdez promoted “inclusive participation among party lines and generations, thus ensuring that the legislative body remained responsive to the needs of the Filipino people.”

It further underscores that Romualdez voluntarily stepped down as Speaker not because of any wrongdoing or illegality but to give way to transparency and accountability, thus allowing any questions over government projects to be resolved without pressure, influence or fear.

The authors caleld this “a conscious act to preserve the trust of the people and to strengthen democratic institutions".