MANILA, Philippines — New House Speaker Martin Romualdez vowed Monday that he will be fair in distributing resources among lawmakers, taking cue from the slogan of his cousin, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for unity in the country.
“I vow to attend to all the concerns of your constituents. I shall try to be as fair as possible and to favor no one. There will be a fair and equitable distribution of resources for the development of our regions regardless of political affiliations,” Romualdez said after his election during the inaugural session of the 19th Congress.
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The distribution of resources Romualdez is referring to is likely House leaders’ power to regulate funding for lawmakers’ projects for their constituents. This is typically exercised for lawmakers to toe the line of the administration or congressional leadership.
But in the same breath, Romualdez said that he will give priority “to those willing to share the aspirations of their constituents” with him in consultations with his office.
Romualdez did not lay down specific legislative priorities in his first speech as speaker, although he did state in broad strokes what can be expected from the House under his leadership.
“We will work together to ensure that the House of Representatives truly embodies the will of the people. We will work hand-in-hand to ensure the swift passage of House measures that are needed by the people and would support development across all sectors of society, at different levels of the government,” he said.
Romualdez previously said that among his priorities are next year’s national budget, a new stimulus package aimed at helping the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls scheduled in December.