Should Romualdez quit as Lakas-CMD head? Suarez assesses party’s future

MANILA, Philippines – With the minority bloc divided in the 16th Congress, should Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez stay on as Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president?

Former Quezon Representative Danilo Suarez on Thursday said that the Leyte lawmaker has already lost the Lakas-CMD leadership with his defeat in the race for the minority leader post in the House of Representatives.

Some of the members of the minority bloc in the past Congress voted for Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

Only four of Lakas-CMD’s 14 members in the House voted for their president, said Suarez.

The Makabayan bloc also voted for Romualdez’s rival, San Juan Representative Ronaldo Zamora, who became the new minority leader.

Suarez, Lakas-CMD vice chairman and former minority leader, said that in losing votes from partymates “the best thing you should do is to resign.”

“In the political world, if you don’t have the trust of your members, you will resign. It’s like you’re in a company. If you don’t have the trust of the board members, you will step down,” he said.

But Suarez denied that he was “suggesting” that Romualdez resign.

The former House leader said he merely mentioned how Romualdez “confided” in him plans to resign because of his “loss of the Lakas leadership.”

“The other scenario is that NUP is asking him to leave and join the NUP,” said Suarez.