Speaker vows fight vs. those who malign House; deputy tags Duterte

Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday opened the second regular session of the 19th Congress saying he would stand up to those who malign and seek to dictate on the House of Representatives.

Romualdez didn't name names but Deputy Speaker Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales upon the questioning of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman referred to former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Gonzales, an erstwhile stalwart of Duterte's PDP-Laban, announced that he was quitting the party.

“Let it be said, never must we countenance or allow others not so likely-minded individuals who choose to malign or put down the image of this institution and dictate the direction we must go," Romualdez said.

"I urge everyone to rally behind our true moral compass – the will of the people,” he added.

Duterte in a television program accused the Romualdez-led House of being the most rotten institution, and that its members had bellies full of pork barrel—lump sum amounts that lawmakers may allocate to projects after the passage of the General Appropriations Act.

The Supreme Court in 2013 declared the pork barrel system unconstitutional.

Duterte said Romualdez was going after his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, claiming the House speaker would run for president in 2028.

The elder Duterte made the remarks after the House decided to realign the proposed P500 million and P150 million confidential fund of the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education, respectively, under the proposed P5.768 trillion budget for 2024. Sara is also the Secretary of Education.

The House realigned the P1.2 billion confidential budget to other agencies directly mandated to ensure national security.

During the session after Romualdez's speech, Lagman asked who was being referred to.

In response, Gonzales said he was resigning from the former ruling party before adding, “Former President Rodrigo Duterte is the one who said.”

GMA News Online reached out to the Vice President and former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea for comment but they have yet to reply as of posting time.

United vs. Duterte?

The House then adopted House Resolution 1414 upholding the integrity and honor of the chamber and expressing appreciation, solidarity, and support to the leadership of Romualdez.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, the son of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Romualdez's nephew, is one of the authors of the measure. Sandro is also the senior deputy majority leader.

Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the chairman-emeritus of Lakas-CMD, isn't among the authors. Her office said she was out of the country but added she continued to support Romualdez's leadership.

“The dignity, integrity and reputation of the House of Representatives are of utmost importance and must be preserved at all times," the resolution read.

"The undersigned Deputy Speakers, party leaders, and members of the House of Representatives, stand united in expressing our deep gratitude and respect to our esteemed Speaker,” it added.

“As a source of our strength and inspiration, we support the Speaker's relentless dedication in amplifying the voice of every Representative, regardless of the challenges and barriers encountered as demonstrated by his staunch commitment to preserve the democratic values,” the resolution said.

The resolution said that criticisms should not undermine the independence, integrity, and reputation of the institution, more so when these statements are couched with threats or insinuations of physical harm to a sitting member of Congress.

She was not named in the resolution but House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro has filed a complaint for grave threats against Duterte over his which comments linked Castro to communist rebels whom he wanted to kill.

“The safety and security of each member of the House, while in the performance of their duties, will always remain paramount, and the House remains committed to achieving unity for the betterment of the country,” it said.

“Whereas, in these turbulent times, it is crucial for us to stand firmly behind our Speaker's leadership, preserving the honor and integrity of the House of Representatives and pledging our allegiance and unity in opposition to any entity aiming to destabilize the core of our democratic institution,” it added.

The other authors of the measure are Deputy Speakers Gonzales, Roberto Puno of Antipolo, Camille Villar of Las Piñas, Kristine Singson-Meehan of Ilocos Sur, Raymond Democrito Mendoza of TUCP party-list, Ralph Recto of Batangas, and Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco of Cebu; House Majority Leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" Dalipe of Zamboanga City, House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan of 4Ps party-list, Yedda Marie Romualdez of Tingog party-list, Elizaldy Co of Ako-Bicol party-list, Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte, Tobias Tiangco of Navotas, Angelica Natasha Co of Barangay Health Workers party-list, Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list, Brian Raymund Yamsuan of Bicol Saro party-list, Luis Raymund "LRay" Villafuerte Jr. of Camarines Sur, Eleandro Jesus Madrona of Romblon, Albert Garcia of Bataan, Johnny Ty Pimentel of Surigao del Sur, Jurdin Jesus Romualdo of Camiguin, Michael John Duavit of Rizal, Wilfrido Mark Enverga of Quezon, and Jose "Joboy" Aquino II of Agusan del Norte.

The authors are from the Nacionalista Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition, National Unity Party, Lakas-CMD, the party-list coalition, among others.

Nothing personal

After Duterte called out the House, the Romualdez-led chamber responded that the COA itself is consistently auditing the agency and has not found evidence of irregularities.

In a speech on Monday, Romualdez said that the House was committed to provide honest and credible public service such as exercising the power of the purse through careful and judicious examination of the proposed budget of the Executive branch.

“The House, during the budget deliberations a few months ago, did not miss a beat in dissecting, scrutinizing, and deliberating every figure and item in the 2024 budget proposal," Romualdez said.

"And we have an alert minority [bloc] to thank for doing their share of spadework in digging into the finer details of the budget. The House was never lenient, nor did it favor anyone,” he added.

“The entire process was dedicated to uplifting the lives of our fellow citizens and staying true to the fundamental principles of the system of checks and balances in the government. Wala pong personalan dito. Trabaho lang,” he added.

(This is not personal. It's just a job.) —AOL/NB, GMA Integrated News