Speaker, House members meet US counterparts in Washington

MANILA, Philippines — A seven-member delegation of the House of Representatives, headed by Speaker Martin Romualdez and accompanied by Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, met with a high-ranking Congress leader in the US yesterday (Manila time).

“This solidifies the good working relationship between President Marcos and President Biden,” the Speaker said after meeting with US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise at the Office of the Majority Leader at the US Capitol in Washington, DC.

Scalise represents Louisiana’s first congressional district.

“We thank Majority Leader Scalise for his warm welcome, his kind words and most important, his commitment to further strengthening Philippine and US ties in various aspects,” Romualdez, who represents Leyte’s first district, said.

“Rest assured that legislators from both sides of the fence will follow through with the necessary work so that the benefits of this dynamic relationship will become more tangible 10-fold,” he added.

It was a fruitful and engaging meeting, “to say the very least,” according to Romualdez, as he shared that he feels that the allied nations “are reaching new heights and levels of understanding.”

The administration stalwart, who also sits as president of the dominant Lakas-CMD party, was accompanied by House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Representatives Toby Tiangco of Navotas’ lone district and Jose Aquino II (Agusan del Norte’s first district), House secretary general Reginald Velasco and House sergeant-at-arms Napoleon Taas.

Dalipe shared the Speaker’s sentiments in meeting the high-ranking US Congress official.

“It was an emboldening experience as a Filipino official to be on the same page with a high-ranking official at the US Capitol,” the representative of Zamboanga City’s second district, who is a counterpart of Scalise, said.