No House leadership change as solons rally behind Speaker Romualdez

By Zaldy De Layola, Philippine News Agency

“There will be no change of leadership in the House of Representatives and that members remain firmly united behind Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez,” Ortega said in an ambush interview with reporters when asked if there were attempts to unseat the House chief. (File Photo: House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – Deputy Speaker, La Union Rep. Pablo Ortega V, said Wednesday that lawmakers in the House of Representatives remained solidly behind Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, as he dismissed speculations of internal discord and reiterated that the House leadership will remain unchanged.

“There will be no change of leadership in the House of Representatives and that members remain firmly united behind Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez,” Ortega said in an ambush interview with reporters when asked if there were attempts to unseat the House chief.

“As you can see, nagkakaisa po ang House of Representatives. Nandoon po lahat ng party leaders, nandoon po ang aming Majority Floor Leader (Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos), nandun po si Speaker at mga ibang Deputy Speakers (the House is united. The party leaders, the Majority Floor Leader, the Speaker, and the other Deputy Speakers were there),” Ortega added, referring to the presence of key leaders during their recent gathering.

Among those in attendance were leaders of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), National Unity Party (NUP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Nacionalista Party (NP), and Party-List Foundation Inc. (PCFI).

When asked if this amounted to a fresh expression of support for the Speaker, Ortega said actions and images already speak volumes about the state of solidarity within the chamber.

“I think the photo will speak for itself na kitang-kita ng tao yung suporta ng (you can clearly see the support of the) House of Representatives saka (and) party leaders,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker dismissed speculation of internal discord and reiterated that the leadership remains unchanged.

In recent weeks, rumors had circulated about supposed moves to alter the House leadership. Ortega, however, downplayed these, underscoring that such talk had no basis.

“Well, maraming tsismis pero sabi ko nga, tsismis. Mga bulong-bulong (there has been a lot of gossip and rumors). Pero as you can see, the House is one, the House is solid, and there’s no change in the leadership,” he said.

Asked if attempts had been made to actually unseat the Speaker, Ortega replied that while gossip had been rife, there had been no evidence to suggest that a real challenge had materialized.

The meeting in question was attended by a significant number of deputy speakers. Ortega confirmed this detail while clarifying that he could only speak from his own perspective.

“As far as I know, kumpleto (complete),” he said when asked if all deputy speakers were present.

Another issue raised was the rumor of a supposed signature-gathering campaign in support of a new Speaker, which Ortega again brushed aside as unverified chatter.

“Tawag lang ‘yung naririnig ko. Tawag-tawag lang (Mere calls are what I heard. Only calls),” he said.

When pressed to elaborate, Ortega said such calls were second-hand accounts and lacked clarity on their source.

“May tumatawag sa ibang members. Pero hindi rin nagpapakilala (Somebody was calling other [House] members. But refused to be identified),” he said, adding that there was nothing concrete, a development not worth treating as fact.