Philippine House Speaker Romualdez Quits
Public works scandal wracks legislature and Marcos clan
By: Tita Valderama
His House of Representatives speakership immersed in allegations of corruption tied to the Philippines' fermenting public works scandal and his presidential ambitions in tatters, Representative Martin Romualdez, first cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has stepped down, saying he had "nothing to hide."
It was a rare occurrence in the Philippines to see a politician, especially one with the political clout of the Romualdez family, to be driven from power. But there is mounting public anger and a deepening crisis of trust over widespread corruption involving numerous flood control projects reminiscent of the massive "Pork Barrel" scandal of 2013 that shook the Congress, and other infrastructure developments that became possible through so-called insertions Romualdez's forces shepherded into the national government budget.
Romualdez, who was widely expected to be the Marcos clan's standard-bearer in the 2028 national polls, quit four days before protest rallies scheduled for September 21 on two locations in Metro Manila with various organizations from the church, basic sectors and communities coming together as public outrage grows against widespread corruption in public works contracts involving private contractors in cahoots with legislators and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
More than a week ago, on September 8, senators installed Vicente Sotto III as Senate president, ousting Francis Escudero, who was reported earlier to have orchestrated the insertion of P142-billion (US$2.49 billion) worth of flood control projects in provinces where senators allied with Vice President Sara Duterte, now the president's mortal enemy, come from.
The so-called congressional insertions in the national budget attributed to Romualdez run up to P540 billion, mostly for public works projects and cash assistance, which lawmakers were supposed to give out to their constituents. But substantial amounts are believed to have ended up in their pockets. At a hearing last week, contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya, the owners of nine construction firms, including top flood control contractors, submitted a sworn affidavit linking numerous lawmakers to the scandal.
Marcos' executive secretary, Lucas Bersamin, issued a strongly worded statement on September 6, lashing out at some lawmakers for allegedly making it appear that the executive branch was mainly at fault over the anomalous flood control projects. Bersamin said investigations into the anomalies "will be futile if the sources of corruption remain unchecked" and urged the Romualdez-led House to "heed the demand of the people for full accountability: Clean your House first!"
Political analyst Ronald Llamas warned that Marcos, whose father was driven from the country in 1986 over massive corruption, could end up getting impeached if he failed to handle a delicate balance in his anti-corruption campaign. Noting that while Marcos is now "on legacy mode" over his administration's need to satisfy the public's demand for accountability by sending corrupt people to jail, it could threaten and diminish his political base who may switch support to his enemies, chief among them the Duterte clan, whose patriarch, former President Rodrigo Duterte, now awaiting trial in The Hague.
"It's a very delicate balancing. He has to bring to a logical conclusion what he has started, he has to bring to court and send somebody to jail, but at the same time, he should not lose his political base, otherwise, he may end up being impeached," he said.
Amid talks that Romualdez was forced to resign, Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno said the speaker had volunteered to quit as the country's fourth-highest-ranking public official weeks ago, but leaders of the various political parties in the chamber prevailed upon him to stay put.
Isabela Representative Faustino “Bodjie” Dy III, one of 11 deputy speakers, was Romualdez's personal choice to succeed him. Dy, 64, was the lone nominee for the position. He received 253 votes. Congressmen from the minority bloc abstained.
“About three weeks or so ago, Martin Romualdez convened the House party leaders, and he told us that he wanted to step aside…and said reason for this is there’s just too much controversy in the House already now and it's affecting the work that everybody is doing. He says everybody is focused, of course, on the controversies on the flood control projects, and he felt that he needed to step aside and face the accusations and rumors regarding whatever is happening in the flood control area,” said Puno, formerly a political operator, in an interview on television hours before the leadership change.
Romualdez has enjoyed strong support from a big majority of the 317-member House since he was first elected speaker in 2022 and again in July 2025. His resignation put an end to months-long rumors that he had lost the trust of Marcos, who spoke strongly about the brazen corruption in flood control projects during his fourth State of the Nation address last July. Since then, Romualdez has been conspicuously absent from public functions and a recent foreign trip.
"Nothing to hide, no one to protect, and above all—we will turn away from the public interest," Romualdez said in a five-minute speech announcing his decision to resign "to allow an independent investigation" to "proceed freely—without pressure, without influence, and without fear."
Marcos has created a three-man Independent Commission for Infrastructure to investigate the flood control anomalies.
Romualdez has been perceived as the mastermind behind the scandalously anomalous public works contracts for supposedly mangling the national government spending program by replacing appropriations for major projects with local infrastructures such as flood control, roads, and bridges from which the legislator-proponents get kickbacks of as much as 30 percent of the project cost, resulting in substandard, defective, or even non-existent projects.
"This is not surrender, but conscience. I did this because I believe that the greatest at of leadership is to let it go," he said to explain the reason for his resignation despite suggestions that he just take a leave of absence while the investigations are ongoing. "If my decision can help restore faith in our institutions, then I offer myself willingly as an example of accountability," he said.
In accepting his new position, Dy vowed not to defend the guilty nor protect the corrupt, referring to the corruption controversies that have hounded his predecessor. A silent member of the House, Dy comes from a dynastic family in northern Philippines and is the leader of Marcos's party, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, in the legislative chamber. He has been in politics for 25 years, having served as congressman for three terms from 2001 to 2010, governor of Isabela province for three terms from 2010 to 2019, vice governor from 2019 to 2025. He regained his congressional seat in the May 2025 polls.
Romualdez has also been taken to task for placing AKO Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co as chairperson of the House appropriations committee, who was blamed for the massive insertions in the annual government budget to the detriment of more important programs and projects. Co's family owned at least three big construction companies that are in the top 10 firms that cornered around 20 percent of the P545 billion ($9.6 billion) worth of flood control projects across the country, many of which are substandard or could not be found but fully paid for.
Public anger over the flood control scandal intensified at the onset of the rainy season when heavy rains flooded more communities while social media was flooded with posts showing the lavish lifestyles of private contractors, legislators, and public works officials involved in public works transactions.
Last weekend, rumors flew thick about another leadership change in the Senate, with Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano supposedly getting enough votes to oust Sotto, giving the impression that the Duterte-aligned senators remain to be a force to reckon with. While there were denials about fresh moves to reorganize the chamber's leadership, Cayetano said the minority will always want to be the majority.
Duterte forces are also staging a gathering in Davao City on Sept. 21, not only to denounce the corruption in flood control projects but also to demand the resignation of Marcos.