A senior member of Congress from Mindanao has endorsed Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez – cousin of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. – as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 19th Congress.
“We are all for Congressman Romualdez to be the next Speaker,” Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said in a statement on Sunday.
“Congressman Romualdez is highly competent. His track record as House majority leader speaks for itself,” Pimentel, chairperson of the House strategic intelligence committee, said.
“There’s no question that Congressman Romualdez has the necessary ability, knowledge and skill to lead the House,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel will be among the House members in the 19th Congress, after he won his third consecutive three-year term as representative of his home province’s second district in the May 9 elections.
“We are also counting on our House colleagues from the Visayas to support Congressman Romualdez for Speaker,” Pimentel said.
If elected to the country’s fourth highest post, Romualdez will be the first Speaker from the Visayas in the post-EDSA People Power Revolution Congress.
A University of the Philippines-educated lawyer, Romualdez was first elected to the post of House majority leader in 2016 as part of a term-sharing deal for Speaker between Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
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