Focus on job, Romualdez tells congressmen
SPEAKER Martin Romualdez yesterday broke his silence on Deputy Speaker Gloria Arroyo’s alleged attempt to oust him, saying the House of Representatives has a lot of work to do “so occasional moves to destabilize the House should be nipped in the bud.”
“The House cannot be distracted from finding legislative solutions to issues that affect the lives of ordinary Filipinos. Rather than engaging in politicking, I would rather that we in the House of Representatives remain focused on more urgent matters,” Romualdez said in a statement.
The infighting in the ruling party Lakas-CMD was apparently the reason for Arroyo’s sudden removal as senior deputy speaker.
Arroyo, who was demoted to the position of a regular deputy speaker, has already denied plotting a coup against Romualdez, saying that some of her actions “may have been misconstrued, such as my recent trip with a delegation of congressmen to Korea for some official meetings.”
The former president, the speaker in the 18th Congress, said she no longer aspires to regain the post but admitted that she wanted to have a shot at it when President Marcos Jr. won in the 2022 national elections.
However, Arroyo said “it soon became apparent that he (Marcos) was most comfortable with then Cong. Martin Romualdez as Speaker.”
Romualdez, the president of the ruling Lakas-CMD of which Arroyo is chairman emeritus, said that despite the political bickering, “the House of the People is in order.”
“This same level of order is what allowed us to approve on third and final reading at least 29 of the 42 bills that comprise the legislative agenda of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” he said.
The Speaker said the House, under his leadership, was able to pass important measures such as the condonation of the debts of agrarian reform beneficiaries, creation of specialty centers in the provinces similar to the Lung and Heart Centers in Metro Manila, and the Magna Carta bills that seek to protect the rights and promote the welfare of Barangay Health Workers and Seafarers.
“The Uniteam, which the House Leadership has always been a part of, must continue to focus on finding immediate solutions to problems of ordinary Filipinos,” Romualdez stressed.
He added: “The House chooses to focus on addressing low power supply, high electricity rates, telco issues and unstable commodity prices, instead of political destabilization.”
He also said the House “should prioritize the real problems of the ordinary people, the only thing that deserves attention. Let’s set aside premature politicking.”
“If we can spend more time on finding solutions to the problems of the ordinary Filipino, we will be able to stand again,” Romualdez said.
CRYPTIC MESSAGE
Vice President Sara Duterte, who has resigned as member of Lakas amid the infighting in the party, yesterday posted a cryptic message on her Instagram account.
“In your ambition, do not be tambaloslos,” Duterte said, without naming the person she was referring to.
Wiktionary defines tambaloslos as “a mythical creature with a large mouth and penis found in Visayan, Bicolano and Mindanao folklore.”
Duterte is a known ally of Arroyo, who was able to pull off a coup in the 18th Congress against then speaker Pantaleon Alvarez with the help of the then Davao City mayor and presidential daughter.
Romualdez has also been close to the Vice President because he was among those who convinced her to run for the post, supported her candidacy and recruited her to join the ruling party.
‘TEMPEST IN A TEACUP’
Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto, who is a member of the Nacionalista Party, expressed confidence that this “political tampuhan (political row) shall pass.”
“This is a tempest in a teacup that will not wash away a strong alliance between close partners who share a common vision of a prosperous and peaceful country. The fog of miscommunication will soon clear, the vow of cooperation will be renewed and attempts to drive a wedge between them shall have failed,” he said in a statement.
Recto, a former senator, said the presidency “has been served well by this working partnership, two House leaders pooling their expertise and experience in providing valuable counsel to the leader of the land.”
“This tandem is instrumental in the House’s prodigious output of bills, and the vigilant exercise of its oversight powers. The country has so many problems. Congress is focused on solutions. It will not feast on intrigues,” he said.
While the uninformed will say that unity has cracked, Recto said, “nothing is farther from the truth” because “no wound needs healing as none was inflicted.”
