Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the representative of the first district of Leyte who deftly maneuvered before the election the disqualification of his female opponent for the position, and the unfortunate withdrawal of another, is speaking as if he has already clinched the speakership of the 20th Congress.
Well, he might really be able to maintain or reclaim the chair, knowing by experience that the post of speaker of the House is not decided on the floor of Congress bu t in the Palace near the Pasig River.
If President Bongbong Marcos, his cousin, still likes him and still supports whatever political plans they have in the run up to 2028 and thereafter, then it is a cinch that Martin will still wield the gavel in the House of Representatives in the coming 20th Congress.
We wonder what this will all mean for Leyte and Samar. And for the rest of the islands.
Well, Martin hosted a dinner for a big group of newbies in the House, held on July 9 at the Aguado Residence in Malacañang.
Aguado was where his father, Benjamin Kokoy Romualdez, held office, both as governor of Leyte, ambassador to the United States, Saudi Arabia, etc., and as presidential brother-in-law.
During the event, Martin Romualdez praised to high heavens the so-called achievements of the 19th Congress, called it very productive. This House under him passed 61 of the 64 priority measures known as the Common Legislative Agenda of the LEDAC.
Martin said a total of 11,557 bills and 2,393 resolutions were filed in the House during this period, of which 1,565 measures were approved and 287 were enacted into law.
Since legislation is not about the quantity of laws passed but the quality of these legislative measures or how they impact on the needs of the Filipino people, we are not impressed about these numbers, Martin.
One of the most important laws passed by your group is the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for this year.
Several congressmen and senators, who all perused the same copy of bicam report from which RA 12116 or the GAA was based, said there were blank line items there, while others said there were none. The budget has been challenged in the Supreme Court by several groups.
At the Aguado meeting, Martin Romualdez feted the new solons and showed them the ropes in the House. Among them were his son Tingog Rep. Andrew Julian Romualdez, Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (who was ferociously defending the existence of online gambling), Rep. Ryan Recto of Batangas, Rep. Brian Poe-Llamanzares of FPJ-Panday Bayanihan, and Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste of Batangas.
We hope Speaker Martin is not teaching these young solons how to line their pockets by participating in budget deliberations and horse trading, or whatever forms of trading.
If these newbies fail to learn the lessons of Getting Rich or Richer 101 from Martin, well, they can ask for clarification and additional tips from those who were also at the dinner— David Jayjay Suarez, Aurelio Dong Gonzales Jr., Joel Chua, Maricar Zamora, Reginald Velasco and other members of the Speaker’s cabal.
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