Speaker Romualdez nagbitiw; Dy pumalit

 Nagbitiw na si Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez bilang House Speaker ng 20th Congress sa gitna na rin ng flood control corruption at budget insertions na kumaladkad sa Kamara sa ilalim ng kanyang liderato.

Pumalit kay Romualdez bilang Speaker si Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III matapos na makakuha ng 253 botong pabor, 28 abstain at apat na hindi bumoto. Agad din itong nanumpa sa plenaryo matapos maluklok sa puwesto.

Bandang 3:20 ng hapon kahapon nang humarap si Romualdez sa full chamber sa huling pagkakataon.

“Leadership also demands that we confront the trials of the present. ... The longer I stay, the heavier that burden grows — on me, on this House, and on the President I have always sought to support,” pahayag ni Romualdez. 

Sinabi ni Romualdez na ang kaniyang pagbaba sa puwesto ay hindi pagsuko.

“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,” wika niya.

“Masakit man sa akin, I am stepping aside so that the independent investigation may proceed freely—without pressure, without influence, and without fear. This is not surrender, but conscience,” malungkot na pahayag ni Romualdez.

Ayon kay Romualdez, ang kaniyang desisyon ay upang ibalik ang tiwala ng publiko sa institusyon upang magkaroon ng ‘full accountability’ at transparency sa gitna ng kontrobersya sa infrastructure projects. “I stand before you today with utmost humility, and with deep gratitude for the trust and confidence you have accorded me. That trust has been the source of my strength in every day of service,” ayon pa kay Romualdez, isang abo­gado mula sa University of the Philippines (UP).

“Mga minamahal kong kababayan, I leave this Chamber as I first entered it — a humble servant, ready to serve wherever duty may call.”

Magugunita na si Romualdez, pinsan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ay naluklok na ika-24th Speaker ng Kamara noong 2022 hanggang sa pagbaba nito sa puwesto kahapon, Setyembre 17.