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Romualdez's allies say he has the numbers to keep the speakership, but another relative of the President has expressed openness to replace Romualdez
The administration’s poor performance in the 2025 midterm elections is putting some sort of a target on Speaker Martin Romualdez’s back.
Can he keep the speakership?
Romualdez’s allies say he already has the numbers, but another relative of the President has also expressed openness to the country’s fourth highest post.
Here’s what we know so far.
Navotas City Representative Toby Tiangco, campaign manager of the administration’s senatorial ticket Alyansa, went on a media tour last week lamenting the results of the midterms, which saw only six out of its 11 candidates entering the so-called Magic 12… five or only half of the slate if you exclude Camille Villar — endorsed by Vice President Sara Duterte herself — from the list.
Not holding back, Tiangco said the impeachment of Vice President Duterte by the House of Representatives in February, which Romualdez leads, hurt the chances of the administration-backed senatorial candidates heading to election day.
He also claimed that the President was against impeachment, and that some House representatives signed the impeachment complaint only because of the promise that funding for their districts — “conditional release” in his own words — would be released after.
“Impeachment wasn’t necessary back then. It was a useless exercise. Because as I told them, even if you sign it now, on February 5, it would still be tackled by the Senate only by June 2. So what happened? There really was a backlash,” Tiangco told ABS-CBN News in Filipino.
“The impeachment was totally within our control. If we hadn’t done it, things wouldn’t have turned out this bad,” he added.
Cracks within Marcos’ inner circle?
Tiangco’s apparent blame game cannot easily be brushed aside because just like Romualdez, he is also a relative of the President, albeit not by blood. Their familial connection is through Michelle Romualdez-Yap, cousin of the President.
Marcos himself has admitted that election night results were not the best case scenario for Alyansa.
“We all wished we had better results, but you know, we live to fight another day,” Marcos said.
In one interview, Tiangco also did not completely discard the idea of being speaker, revealing that some congressmen have reached out to him expressing their support.
“I will do whatever is best for the President. If it’s best for the President that Martin Romualdez remains speaker, I will support,” Tiangco said in a OnePH interview. “If he thinks I can help him more, I will accept it, as long as my colleagues agree.”
Numbers game
In the House, the results of the 2025 elections are a mixed bag for candidates who voted for Duterte’s impeachment.
Rolando Valeriano and Joel Chua of Manila, as well as Gerville Luistro of Batangas, survived their congressional races despite Duterte’s active endorsement of their rivals. But other notable House tormentors of the Vice President suffered losses too, notably quad committee co-chairs Dan Fernandez of Laguna and Benny Abante of Manila, and Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe of Zamboanga City.
Romualdez’s key ally, Tingog Representative Jude Acidre, pointed out that 100 out 115 lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint and were up for reelection won their races. The number includes 36 out 44 pro-impeachment lawmakers in Mindanao, turf of the Dutertes.
“Just to set the record straight, these results dismantle the narrative that the impeachment was a political liability,” Acidre said. “What we’re seeing is a public that values courage over complicity. The people have drawn the line, and they stood with us.”
“With due respect to Representative Tiangco, the numbers simply do not support that claim,” Acidre added.
On Friday, May 16, party leaders held their first post-election meeting “to begin internal discussions on administrative arrangements and continuity mechanisms,” according to a House press release.
After the closed-door meeting, House Deputy Speaker and Lakas treasurer Jay-jay Suarez expressed confidence that Romualdez would be reelected speaker, saying at least 240 congressmen have signed the manifesto of support.
“This is already a supermajority,” said Suarez. “It’s over. The Speaker has the numbers.”
“With this kind of broad support, any attempt to challenge the Speaker’s leadership is simply unrealistic,” he added.
Tiangco, however, made comments that seem to cast doubts on how genuine the support is.
“Some congressmen were calling me, saying, ‘What do we do? Will we go? We want to be on your side.’ I said, ‘Oh no, I haven’t declared anything yet. Just go there, you might end up getting the heat if you don’t,” Tiangco said.
There are still 10 weeks to go until the 20th Congress opens, so anything can happen. – Rappler.com
