Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt Romualdez on Wednesday filed her Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance as the nominee of the Tingog Sinirangan Party-List group in a bid to bring more reforms in Eastern Visayas.
Romualdez, the first nominee of Tingog Sinirangan, vowed to push for the advancement of Eastern Visayas by fighting poverty and pushing for pro-poor programs.
Romualdez aside, Tingog Sinirangan’s other nominees are Jude A. Acidre, Jamie J. Go, Alexis V. Yu, and Jenifer C. Padual.
Romualdez stressed the need for Eastern Visayas to be represented under the party-list system to ensure that marginalized sectors would have one strong voice in Congress.
“We hope to give one strong voice to the people of the region and champion the cause of authentic regional development and make not only Region 8 but the entire country less vulnerable to disasters,” Romualdez, the head of the House committee on accounts, said in a statement.
“After getting back on our feet following “Yolanda’s” devastation, we are inspired by the challenge to make a much better Eastern Visayas,” said Romualdez, vice chairman of the House committee on government enterprises and privatization who represents Tacloban City or the ground zero during Yolanda’s onslaught.
“Now is the time for change and we need one strong voice that will fulfill the dreams, hopes and aspirations of the people who have been battling poverty for a long time. Let’s give Eastern Visayas the chance to be one of the country’s most competitive regions in the country,” Romualdez said.
Acidre said, “if Eastern Visayas comprises four percent of the country’s population, then why is it that our share in the national budget is a little more than one percent?”
“That is why we need a stronger voice in Congress that would strengthen our representation in pushing for our region’s interests as well as that of other similarly situated regions. We need to work hard to make Region VIII great.”
