The National Unity Party (NUP), one of the major political parties in this year’s elections, on Thursday endorsed Rep. Martin G. Romualdez of Tacloban City to be the next Speaker of the 19th Congress.
In a news statement, NUP spokesman Reginald Velasco said members of the political party “unanimously” agreed to endorse Romualdez as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“In a consultation with the NUP members of the House of Representatives, it was unanimously agreed to endorse Rep. Romualdez as the Speaker for the coming Congress,” Velasco said.
“This decision was arrived at in recognition of his exemplary service as Majority Leader of the 18th Congress and his proven ability as a consensus builder for the different political parties in the House of Representatives,” Velasco added.
Romualdez, first cousin of presumptive President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has been reelected for his fifth term as representative of the 1st district of Leyte after garnering 181,480 votes. Romualdez ran unopposed in this year’s elections.
Romualdez is the president of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the political party where presumptive Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio joined to be able to run for a national position in the May 9 elections. Duterte-Carpio is currently the chairman of the Lakas-CMD.
Both the NUP and Lakas-CMD endorsed Marcos Jr. and Duterte’s presidential and vice presidential bids in the elections.
In 2019, Duterte-Carpio, who was then chairman of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, endorsed Romualdez as the next Speaker of the 18th Congress. -30-
Image credits: Robinson Ninal Jr./Malacañang Presidential Photographers Division via AP