Marcos camp on Romualdez speakership bid: We respect House independence

Atty. Victor Rodriguez, chief of staff and spokesperson of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Screengrab from PTV

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Tuesday it will respect the independence of the legislative branch as it refused to comment on the current race for the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.

This development came after several political groups and prominent individuals in the House have endorsed Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, cousin of Marcos Jr., as the Speaker for the 19th Congress.

“I think we’re still in the 18th Congress. For the incoming, we’re not yet in the position to be making any comment on that since it will be presumptuous to join the fray,” Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Marcos Jr.’s spokesperson, said in a press briefing.

“It’s a legislative matter and we respect the independence of a co-equal branch of government,” he added.

Among the political parties that have endorsed Romualdez as the next Speaker are the National Unity Party, PDP-Laban, Nacionalista Party, the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), the Nationalist People’s Coalition, and the Lakas-CMD.

The Party-list Coalition Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) in the House has also endorsed Romualdez.

Moreover, former President and House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as well as current House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco have also endorsed Romualdez.

Romualdez earlier called on his colleagues to set aside politics in order to get their jobs done.

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JPV