Romualdez on 3 Dutertes seeking Senate seat: 'It's a democratic nation we live in'

Following the announcement of Vice President Sara Duterte that her father and two brothers are all planning to run for the Senate in the 2025 elections, Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday said every qualified Filipino has the right to do so.

“It’s a democratic nation that we live in, so any Filipino has [a] right provided that they have the proper qualifications to seek for higher office,” he said in an ambush interview at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute.

Vice President Duterte on Tuesday said that former President Rodrigo Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, and Davao City First District Representative Paolo Duterte will seek Senate seats next year. 

She also announced that Baste will be running for president in the 2028 national and local elections. 

The Vice President said that her mother advised her to go back to Davao City to run again as mayor. 

As for Romualdez, he said he has no plans to run for senator in the 2025 elections, but is eyeing another term as Leyte 1st district representative. 

He also shrugged off questions about the possibility of running for President in the 2028 elections.

The Duterte-Romualdez row started last year when the House of Representatives removed over P1 billion worth of confidential funds, including P650 million for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd), in the 2024 national budget. 

Vice President Duterte had said that “whoever is against confidential funds is against peace. Whoever is against peace is an enemy of the nation.”

Since then, former President Duterte has launched verbal attacks on Romualdez and his cousin, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

'Political storm, demolition team'

Meanwhile, former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, who served under the elder Duterte's term, said three Dutertes running in 2025 is ''a political storm that their detractors and those undeservingly clinging to power will not be able to contain and survive.''

''The Dutertes will be the demolition team that will dismantle the vested political structures built by those who turned their backs on the people’s welfare and interest and who focused on enriching themselves in office and transgressing the constitutional rights of individuals and entities,'' Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo said supporters of former President Duterte ''have been buoyed up and resurrected their dead hopes of having another Duterte presidency.''

New NKTI building

Meanwhile, Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co also hailed the establishment of the new NKTI Hemodialysis Building, calling it a great blessing for Filipinos.

Co said the 13-storey facility would address kidney disease, which is considered as one of the most pressing health issues in the country. He said he is aware of the issue's magnitude since a significant portion of the public seeking medical assistance have kidney problems.

"Sa katunayan, tuwing People's Day ng Ako Bicol Party-List tuwing Lunes sa North Gate ng Batasang Pambansa, mahigit kalahati o roughly sixty-five percent ng mga lumalapit sa amin ay humihingi ng medical assistance dahil may sakit sa bato at nangangailangan ng pang-dialysis,'' Co, chairman of the House appropriations panel, said in a press release.

(In fact, at the People’s Day of Ako Bicol Party-List held at the north gate of the Batasang Pambansa every Monday, roughly 65 percent of those seeking assistance have kidney problems and need dialysis.)

Co said the NKTI's Hemodialysis Building was seen as a major milestone in the country's healthcare infrastructure.

"Kaya naman isang malaking biyaya para sa ating mga Pilipino ang pagtatayo ng 13-story Hemodialysis Building dito sa NKTI. Sa pamamagitan ng bagong gusaling ito, mas maraming kababayan natin ang magkakaroon ng access sa kinakailangang dialysis treatment,'' Co said.

(That's why the construction of the 13-storey Hemodialysis Building here at the NKTI is a huge blessing. With this new building, more Filipinos will have access to dialysis treatments.)

The establishment of the building was part of the Marcos administration's initiative to increase specialty hospitals and centers in the country.—with Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK/RF, GMA Integrated News