It’s day 20 of the 66-day campaign period for national positions in this year’s elections, but there’s no sign of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
An undisputed political heavyweight in the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Romualdez has not been coy about his intentions to succeed his first degree cousin. It is therefore strange that he has been invisible in the critical mid-term elections that will probably determine how the 2028 polls will shape up.
The Speaker, of course, is having his hands full fending off the negative backlash of the poorly-executed filing of the impeachment case against Vice President Inday Sara Duterte. Even many rabidly anti-Duterte groups are starting to distance themselves from the case even though they entertain the same plot against the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Indeed, it does not take a political analyst to know the move backfired based on the widespread outrage in nearly all parts of the country.
Even those who have thrown their lot with the Marcoses and Romualdez are badmouthing the Speaker, privately of course, because the impeachment brouhaha has complicated their own political careers. That’s the problem with a relationship based on political expediency. It can evaporate into thin air in the wink of an eye.
But the botched impeachment case is not the only knot Romualdez has tied himself with. The scandalous 2025 annual budget has come under heavy fire from nearly all segments of society, chiefly from Atty. Vic Rodriguez and Cong. Isidro Ungab who have filed a petition challenging it before the Supreme Court. On top of the issues raised are some 28 blank items in the Bicam Committee Report that translates into more than P400 Billion of questionable appropriations, a first in the nation’s history.
Also because of the same budget, former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, lawyers Ferdinand Topacio and Jimmy Bondoc, also a senatorial aspirant, have filed criminal charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against Romualdez and Representatives Manuel Dalipe, Zaldy Co and Stella Quimbo.
This could explain Romualdez’ hesitation to join the administration senatorial slate on the campaign trail. The upcoming hearings are enough to preoccupy – if not cause him sleepless nights.
Unfortunately for Romualdez, he is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. If he joins the campaign sortie, he will be a liability because people will be reminded of the unpopular issues which will only pull the administration candidates down even more. On the other hand, his continued absence has sparked talks that he is on the way out of Malacañang’s good graces – that is if he’s not there yet.
Call it karma, fate or whatever, the fact is that Martin is now paying for the consequences of his actions. How he wiggles himself out this mess – if he can – is intriguing and interesting.
For the moment, the question remains: where is Martin?
