(UPDATE) LEYTE 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez stepped down as speaker at the House of Representatives’ plenary session on Wednesday.
“The issues surrounding certain infrastructure projects have raised questions that weigh not only upon me but [also] upon this institution we all serve,” Romualdez said, referring to the growing scandal over kickbacks on nonexistent or substandard flood control projects. “Our countrymen are seeking trust. It is our duty to restore it.”
“The longer I stay, the heavier that burden grows on me, on this House and on the president I’ve always sought to support,” he said.
“And so, after deep reflection and prayer, I have made a decision today with a full heart and a clear conscience, I tender my resignation as speaker,” said Romualdez, a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
After his resignation, Rep. Faustino Dy III of Isabela’s 6th district was elected speaker with 253 votes.
The Palace, meanwhile, said Romualdez’s resignation would not spare him from investigations into allegations of massive corruption in the awarding of flood control projects.
At the opening of the 20th Congress in July, Romualdez was elected speaker again after serving as speaker of the 19th House.
Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno told radio DZMM earlier Wednesday that Romualdez informed them on Tuesday of his plan to resign.
“He recommended to the party leaders that, if they could, vote Deputy Speaker Bojie Dy and help,” Dy, Puno said, referring to Rep. Faustino Dy III of Isabela’s 6th district.
Puno said that the resignation had been discussed in the past weeks.
In an interview at the House, his fellow deputy speaker, Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, confirmed Puno’s statements, saying that Romualdez had been thinking of resigning to spare the House from controversies.
When he testified at the Senate, Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II said that former representative Marvin Rillo mentioned Romualdez “as his close friend.”
Rillo was among the people named by the Discaya couple in their affidavit as having demanded kickbacks on government projects. He has denied the allegations.
Romualdez and other incumbent lawmakers have denied the allegations as well.
Discaya, when he appeared before the House inquiry on flood control projects, clarified that he had no transaction with Romualdez, and that he was only told by some lawmakers that the speaker would get a cut.
Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima said Romualdez’s resignation would rid the public of the notion that nothing would come from the investigations.
“That is actually a good move, thinking about the institution, because more than anyone else, more than any member of the House… the integrity and credibility of the House of Representatives as an institution should always be in mind. So it’s more than any individual reputation now we’re talking about, it’s about the very reputation, credibility, integrity and dignity of the whole House of Representatives,” she said.
Public anger
Public anger over so-called ghost infrastructure projects has intensified since Marcos put them center stage in a July State of the Nation Address that followed weeks of deadly flooding.
Thousands are expected to turn out in Manila on Sunday for a “Trillion Peso March,” named for a Greenpeace estimate of funds allegedly bilked from climate-related projects since 2023.
The Philippines has a long history of scandals involving public funds, in which high-ranking politicians found guilty of corruption have typically escaped serious jail time.
Sen. Francis Escudero was replaced by Sen. Vicente Sotto III as Senate president early last week amid ongoing investigations by both houses of Congress into the flood control scandal.
Escudero’s name was linked to one of the country’s top flood control project contractors, a revelation he called a “demolition job” aimed at removing him from the Senate’s top post.
New speaker
Dy, from the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, asked the public for a chance for the House of Representatives to earn back their trust.
“I admit, I have worry in my heart while thinking of the challenge of the duty being placed on my shoulders,” he said.
“I know that many of our countrymen are hurt and angry already because of current events. I understand you. As a son of the province of Isabela, I know very well the challenges brought by severe storms, the destruction of homes and lives whenever flood rises. In their name, I accept with all humility the challenge of being speaker of the House,” Dy, a former governor, said in a speech after he was elected and took his oath as speaker.
“I will be the first one to tell our countrymen: We have a shortcoming. We are humbling ourselves before you…. We are asking you to give us a chance to earn your trust back,” he said.
The speaker has over four decades as a public servant, serving over the years as a vice mayor, mayor, a district representative, vice governor and governor.
A statement issued by the House cited numerous awards that Dy received, including the Gawad Kalasag for disaster risk reduction, the National Rice Achievers Award and recognition as one of the country’s most business-friendly executives.
Dy took up economics at the University of Santo Tomas. He is married to Mary Ann Arcega, with whom he has four children: Francis Faustino, Faustino IV, Faustino V and Justin Faustino.
No immunity from investigation
A Palace spokesman said Romualdez’s resignation would not spare him from being investigated by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
“If his name is dragged and there is evidence against him, it would be good for him to defend himself by presenting records he would like to share. Resign or not resign, he will still be investigated,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in Filipino at a press briefing.
WITH AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
