HOUSE Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday stepped down from his post, saying his resignation was meant to ensure full accountability and transparency amid controversies surrounding infrastructure projects.
In his valedictory address before the plenary, Romualdez said the decision was made “with a full heart and a clear conscience,” stressing that leadership requires confronting challenges head-on.
“The longer I stay, the heavier that burden grows — on me, this House, and the President I have always sought to support,” he said, referring to allegations linked to certain infrastructure projects.
Romualdez emphasized that stepping aside would allow the Independent Commission on Infrastructure to carry out its probe “freely and fully — without doubt, without interference, and without undue influence.”
He recalled that upon assuming the Speakership, he vowed to make the chamber “the people’s House — isang Kongresong bukas, tapat, at tunay na naglilingkod.” He also cited President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s recent State of the Nation Address where the Chief Executive underscored the need for accountability.
“I fully and unequivocally embrace that call,” he said.
Romualdez urged his colleagues to move forward with unity and resolve, and called on Filipinos not to lose faith in democracy, which he described as “capable of self-correction and renewal.”
“Mga minamahal kong kababayan, I leave this Chamber as I first entered it — a humble servant, ready to serve wherever duty may call,” he added.
The outgoing Speaker concluded his speech with a parting message: “I step down not in surrender, but in service — for sometimes, the greatest act of leadership is the grace to let go, so that this institution may endure stronger than before.”
Romualdez, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines and president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), assumed the House leadership in 2022.
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