Marcos Jr's youngest named ‘special assistant’ to Speaker Romualdez

MANILA, Philippines — House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan yesterday set the record straight on the confusion caused by the visit of President Marcos’ youngest son William Vincent to the House of Representatives last week.

“The truth is, we were advised that Mr. Vincent ‘Vinny’ Marcos had been designated special assistant to the Speaker, and the Speaker merely asked us to brief the young man on the role and work of the House minority bloc,” Libanan, who represents the 4Ps party-list group, said.

The youngest Marcos, who is turning 26 years old in May, previously worked as a software engineer in Singapore before he returned home to help his father in the May 9, 2022 presidential elections.

Vinny is a nephew of Speaker Martin Romualdez, a maternal first cousin of the President, and a brother of Sandro, who represents the 1st District of Ilocos Norte and was Romualdez’s staff before joining the 2022 polls.

“We must stress that even if the majority and minority blocs have differing views, we at the House can all agree to disagree without being disagreeable,” Libanan, a veteran legislator who leads the 23-man opposition minority bloc, said.

Romualdez and Libanan, who are both lawyers, both hail from Eastern Visayas.

Romualdez represents the 1st district of Leyte, while Libanan previously represented the lone district of Eastern Samar in Congress before he was nominated representative of 4Ps party-list.

Sandro, a neophyte lawmaker, is senior deputy majority leader.

Before Libanan’s posting on social media of their meeting, including himself shaking hands with the President’s son, the latter was seen on two separate meetings with lawmakers, which included pictures with Romualdez and House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe.

“Today, as the resumption of session begins, we have continued to discuss legislation to help improve our country and for our fellow citizens’ sake. I am glad to have met with Speaker Martin Romualdez, President Marcos Jr.’s son, Vincent Marcos, and my fellow congressmen after the holidays recess,” Libanan wrote in his caption.

“During the first minority bloc meeting, the agenda was centered on our priority measures for 2023. We are also delighted to have welcomed the President’s youngest son, Vinny Marcos who joined us this meeting. Thank you for visiting us!” he wrote separately.