Minority bloc expands, new independent groups emerge in 20th Congress

Rep. Martin Romualdez.INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives opened the first regular session of the 20th Congress on Monday with the expected reelection of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as Speaker—alongside unexpected shifts in political dynamics and alliances as the Marcos administration enters its second half.

LIVE UPDATES: 20th Congress convenes today 

As predicted, the veteran lawmaker sailed uncontested into a second term as House Speaker, with a comfortable 269 votes in favor, against 34 lawmakers who abstained from voting.

READ: Number of solons backing Romualdez speakership now at 291 – Garin

His reelection puts to rest rumored bids to wrest power from President Marcos Jr.’s cousin. Prior to this, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, Cebu Rep. Duke Frasco, and Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez were floated as possible contenders for the speakership.

This, however, led to a slightly larger minority bloc—up from around 27 in the previous Congress—as well as the creation of a small group of “independents” dissatisfied with Romualdez’s leadership.

As expected, Liberal Party stalwarts and Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, Dinagat Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Albay Rep. Krisel Lagman, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice; Akbayan Reps. Chel Diokno, Perci Cendana, and Dadah Kiram Ismula; as well as the progressive Makabayan bloc members ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co joined the minority.

For De Lima, the emergence of this “larger and more assertive minority bloc in the 20th Congress signals a shift. It reflects a growing public demand for stronger checks and balances, and for leaders who will hold the line—not just go with the tide.”

“For the Marcos Jr. administration, this means it can no longer expect quiet compliance. For Speaker Romualdez, it presents both a challenge and an opportunity: the challenge of navigating a more critical and independent House, and the opportunity to prove that leadership can rise above partisanship,” she said.

The independents, meanwhile, include Tiangco, Benitez, Davao Reps. Paolo Duterte, Omar Duterte, and Isidro Ungab; and Pwersa ng Pilipinong Pandaragat (PPP) Rep. Harold Duterte—who all said they would neither align with the majority nor the minority.

READ: Frasco claims House needs unifying leadership; Suarez says manifesto is proof

House rules state that those who did not vote for the winning Speaker automatically join the minority.

Tiangco, who served as campaign manager for the administration’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate, said he could “no longer support the leadership of the House of Representatives because of what happened to the 2025 national budget.”

“This is not an easy decision, but it is not new to me,” Tiangco in Filipino.

“The old system of discussing the national budget is no longer tenable. There must be changes in the budget process—it has to be transparent from start to finish,” Tioangco added mostly in Filipino.

The three Dutertes and Ungab initially attended the opening session but walked out of the plenary hall as the voting for the speakership began.

In a statement, Duterte said he would “not lend my name nor my vote to any side that treats leadership as a prize, not a responsibility.”

“What we are seeing is not governance—it is a game of thrones being played at the expense of the people… The public deserves better than political charades that reek of ambition, betrayal, and manufactured allegiances,” he said.

Ungab, meanwhile, noted that there were “historical precedents in the Philippine Congress, U.S. Congress, and even the British Parliament where members have chosen to remain independent rather than align with either the majority or the minority.”

Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez likewise declared himself an independent member of the House and blamed Romualdez for the “controversies” that hounded the chamber—including the questionable budget allocations in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“All of these have contributed to distrust, disunity, and dysfunction. Our constituents and even our colleagues now question the integrity, transparency, and sincerity of the House,” said the senior lawmaker.

Romualdez’s leadership oversaw a highly productive House—but also an extremely polarized Congress, where the House frequently butted heads with the Senate on contentious issues.

These included the controversial push to amend the 1987 Constitution last year, over which the veteran lawmaker was accused of orchestrating a people’s initiative to railroad the amendments; the move to slash Vice President Sara Duterte’s budget by over P1 billion last September for refusing to explain how she spent more than P600 million in confidential funds in just two years; and the subsequent impeachment complaint to have her removed and permanently barred from public office.

As leader of the powerful Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats political bloc—which comprises the House majority—Romualdez was also criticized for failing to deliver a decisive win for Alyansa in the midterm elections.

He has also publicly fallen out with Duterte, for whom he previously served as campaign manager during the 2022 elections.

READ: Where is Sara Duterte? VP to skip Marcos’ SONA again as rift widens

On Nov. 22, Duterte—who had barricaded herself inside the Batasang Pambansa in support of her detained chief of staff Zuleika Lopez—went on a livestream where she claimed, among other things, that she had asked someone to kill the First Couple and Romualdez if anything happened to her.

This threat was cited as one of the seven articles of impeachment endorsed by the House against her last February, which the Supreme Court later ruled unconstitutional for violating the one-year bar rule on filing impeachment complaints. /jpv