MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez broke his silence regarding the alleged rift between him and Vice President Sara Duterte, saying they are on good terms and that “a picture paints a thousand words.”
“A picture is worth a thousand words, siguro nakita mo na ‘yong picture,” Romualdez said in an interview on Thursday.
“We’re good, we’re good,” he added.
Romualdez did not specify what picture he was referring to.
Romualdez and Duterte, however, were seen walking with their arms locked together last Tuesday before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. flew to Malaysia for a three-day state visit.
The gesture drew cheers from the crowd, including Marcos himself, who said it was a “welcome sight.”
It is not clear where the rift started, but Duterte, in one event, chose not to mention President Marcos’ middle name — Romualdez — in an apparent reference to the Chief Executive’s cousin, Speaker Romualdez.
The incident came after Duterte’s ally and mentor, former president and now Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was replaced as House Senior Deputy Speaker.
According to House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe, Arroyo was designated Deputy Speaker to relieve her from the stress and burden of being senior deputy speaker.
But a day after, Arroyo admitted that her recent actions may have been misinterpreted as an attempt to stage a coup and oust Romualdez.
She also said that while she initially yearned for the Speakership after Marcos was elected president in 2022, she gave that up after seeing the wisdom in Romualdez being elected Speaker.
Duterte later resigned from Lakas-CMD — the political party of Romualdez and Arroyo, which the opposition viewed as a protest of Arroyo’s demotion.