Marcos Jr's cousin steps down as Philippines’ Congress speaker amid fake flood-control projects probe

Manila: House Speaker Martin Romualdez has fallen amid a corruption scandal shaking the country's democratic foundation.

On Wednesday, Romualdez reportedly resigned. A close ally confirmed the move. Local media carried the story.

Romualdez, cousin to the president and representative of Leyte’s First District, has surrendered his speakership in the 313-member House. Recently, he hired a spokesperson.

Earlier on Wednesday, Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno told local media: “Yesterday (Tuesday), our Speaker Romualdez called us in and told us that he intends to resign from his position today (Wednesday),” he said in Filipino during a dzMM interview.

Romualdez, cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has told the chief executive that he will quit as House speaker on Wednesday, Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno told ABS-CBN News Channel. Romualdez didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

“He said the reason for this was there’s too much controversy in the House already now and it’s affecting the work everybody is doing,” Puno said.

Shake-up

The shake-up at the House comes amid a corruption crackdown on flood control projects by the Marcos administration.

The Philippine leader said earlier this week that no one will be exempted, including his relatives and allies, in the government’s probe into the misuse of public funds for the projects. 

Congressman Paolo Ortega, another deputy speaker, said in a mobile-phone message that Romualdez will meet with political party leaders today and will address the issue.

Last week, the Senate, which is separately investigating corruption in flood mitigation projects, elected a new leader.

Romualdez also suggested a replacement: He recommended House Deputy Speaker and Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III. Dy is a member of the same party as President Marcos Jr.

Puno revealed that Romualdez’s resignation had been discussed “weeks ago.”

Party leaders had urged him not to step down, warning that the chamber could not afford to be “unstable” amid controversies.

"Every time we party leaders meet, Speaker Martin would always mention that he was really thinking of resigning, because he said there was already too much controversy and he wanted to protect the reputation of our Lower House,” Puno said.

Romualdez stood firm.

Some leaders suggested he take a leave instead.

Romualdez to face allegations

“He said maybe he should step aside so that he could face these allegations. It wouldn’t be good if there were only rumors and people would say he was using his position to avoid scrutiny,” Puno added.

“He said it wouldn’t be fair to the House. He said everything he did was for the success of the House of Representatives, and that it wouldn’t be right for it to seem like he was avoiding the inquiries of the committees or the upcoming commission,” Puno said, referring to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.

Romualdez, according to Puno, wanted no perception that he was evading accountability. “He has nothing to be ashamed of and has done nothing wrong,” Puno insisted.

But in a meeting Tuesday, Romualdez made his final decision.

“He said the problem with taking a leave is that people would say, ‘He’ll just come back; he’s just on the sidelines; his decision to face all of this isn’t really true,’” Puno said.

What’s next for Romualdez?

He remains a congressman. He plans to focus on clearing his name.

“The most recent issue started back in January regarding the so-called budget insertions, but now we’ve learned that it actually wasn’t him and he had nothing to do with it,” Puno explained.

“But the Speaker endured that for seven months. That’s why I admire him, because he was not only prepared but also showed the capacity to sacrifice for the House, for Congress as a whole, and even for the Senate as well,” he added.

In February, 12 counts of falsification of legislative documents and 12 counts of graft were filed against Romualdez and others before the Office of the Ombudsman.

The cases involve alleged P241 billion worth of “insertions” in the 2025 national budget.

Talk of leadership changes grew louder after the Senate saw its own shake-up. Former Senate president Francis Escudero was replaced by Senate President Vicente Sotto III. Escudero had been criticized for a P30-million campaign donation from a contractor who later won large infrastructure deals.

Romualdez has not been linked to any contractor.

But criticism mounted after contractor-couple Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya accused several House lawmakers of taking bribes from public funds for infrastructure.

At a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing last Monday, Curlee Discaya claimed lawmakers demanded kickbacks. He also alleged that on top of this, a 25% cut was supposed to go to Romualdez and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co.