UNITY TALK — Top Nacionalista Party (NP) officials led by presumptive Sen. Mark Villar (2nd from left), presidential son and Representative-elect Sandro Marcos (3rd from left), Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas City Rep. Camille Villar (3rd from right), Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus “Budoy” Madrona (2nd from right), and incoming Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron (right) have a short meeting with House Majority Leader and 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez (left) during a courtesy call in Makati City Monday afternoon. The NP officials formalized their endorsement for Romualdez as Speaker of the incoming 19th Congress.
Photo by VER NOVENO
Support for Romualdez snowballs
NP formalizes backing for Romualdez as Speaker
NACIONALISTA Party (NP) stalwarts on Monday afternoon paid a courtesy call on House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez to formalize their support for him to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the next Congress.
Those who called on him in Makati City included reelected Representatives Camille Villar of Las Piñas and Eleandro Jesus Madrona of Romblon, incoming Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, son of presumptive President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.; incoming Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron, and presumptive Sen. Mark Villar.
Villars’ parents are former Senate President Manny Villar Jr. and Sen. Cynthia Villar, the leaders of the NP, which has a membership of 39 in the House of Representatives.
A torrent of support from members of NP, PDP-Laban, Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), National Unity Party (NUP), Liberal Party (LP), Party-list Coalition Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) and independents has sealed the speakership for the representative of Leyte’s first district.
“I want to express my most sincere gratitude to all these political parties and their members. I am humbled and greatly honored by their statements of support and encouragement. I assure them that I will do my best to serve them well,” Romualdez, Lakas-CMD President, said.
With the major political groups coming together to support him, Romualdez said the House of Representatives would be on solid ground in promoting the unity agenda of the incoming Marcos administration.
“We will work as one in pursuing this agenda and putting in place measures that would get us out of the COVID-19 pandemic and those that would sustain our nascent economic growth,” Romualdez said. By RYAN PONCE PACPACO
