House Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez's decision to step down from his post last week came as a surprise to many Filipinos – except for seasoned political observers.
House Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez's decision to step down from his post last week came as a surprise to many Filipinos – except for seasoned political observers.
Some of them have even predicted that, following the abrupt change of leadership in the Senate a few weeks ago, the House of Representatives is set to follow suit.
Speculations now abound as to why Romualdez – who only a few months ago had retained the trust and confidence of a majority of his colleagues in Congress – suddenly decided to relinquish his post in the wake of the increasingly turbulent political landscape.
One conclusion is that he may have been selected as a “sacrificial lamb,” either by his cousin and chief patron, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., or his fellow legislators who are now feeling the heat of the growing anger of the people over continuing revelations of massive corruption regarding flood-control projects.
That it should happen before the scheduled “Trillion Peso March” organized by various sectors on September 21 have also fueled the speculation that Romualdez and/or his colleagues may be trying to appease the masses at a time when public frustration over the unprecedented scale of greed displayed by some government officials.
Whatever the reason, it’s also clear that Romualdez stepping down will calm down the fire of fury among the people fed up with corruption.
It will only fuel the flames of suspicion that another massive cover-up will not only exonerate those guilty of the wholesale robbery of public funds but even entrench their hold on our government and society.
These are dangerous times indeed.
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