Lawmakers praised Speaker Martin Romualdez for his latest rise in public approval ratings, attributing the House of Representatives’ legislative accomplishments to his inclusive and strong leadership.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales, Deputy Speaker David Suarez, and Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe collectively hailed the Speaker’s ability to foster unity among political parties.
The leaders emphasized that under Speaker Romualdez’s leadership, the House has passed critical pieces of legislation, saying “Many of these laws are landmark legislation and reflect on a legislative body that is efficient, effective and dedicated to the needs of the Filipino people.”
According to the Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey conducted by OCTA Research from November 10 to 16, 2024, Romualdez had a trust rating of 58 percent and a performance rating of 59 percent.
Meanwhile, Quad Comm leaders Reps. Robert Ace Barbers, Dan Fernandez, Joseph Stephen Paduano, Bienvenido Abante, Romeo Acop, Jonathan Keith Flores, Johnny Ty Pimentel, and Gerville Luistro praised Speaker Romualdez for prioritizing accountability and good governance through strengthened oversight functions.
“Speaker Romualdez ensures transparency and integrity in governance. His guidance has allowed us to investigate and address critical issues such as agricultural smuggling, anomalies in power costs and the misuse of public funds,” they said.
The Quad Comm leaders highlighted the ongoing probes into confidential fund misuse, as well as investigations into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) linked to financial crimes and other illicit activities.
For their part, the young legislators of the House, including Reps. Pammy Zamora, Zia Alonto Adiong, PM Vargas, Ernesto Dionisio Jr., Lordan Suan, Rodge Gutierrez, Jude Acidre, Jay Khonghun, Inno Dy V, Paolo Ortega V, Jil Bongalon, Mika Suansing, Migs Nograles, and Cheeno Almario lauded Speaker Romualdez for his mentorship and inclusivity.
Lawmakers noted that under Speaker Romualdez’s leadership, the House has achieved historic legislative milestones, processing over 4,760 measures and enacting 166 laws in just 178 session days. These include significant reforms in education, health and economic recovery, which directly impact millions of Filipinos.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meanwhile continues to enjoy high trust and approval ratings from the majority of Filipinos while Vice President Sara Duterte’s support dipped 10 percentage points — the highest decline among the top four elected officials – the OCTA survey showed.
Released on Tuesday, the fourth quarter 2024 TNM Survey indicated that 65% of adult Filipinos trust Marcos, while Duterte’s trust rating trailed behind at 49%.
Mr. Marcos obtained a trust rating of 65%, a modest decrease of 4% from 69% recorded in the 3rd quarter survey last year. Similarly, a majority of adult Filipinos, or 64% said they were satisfied with the performance of the President.
As for Duterte, her trust ratings fell from the 59% recorded in the third quarter of 2024.
“It must be noted that this is the fourth consecutive quarter that Duterte experienced a decline in her trust ratings, continuing the slide since the 3rd quarter TNM survey conducted last August 2024,” OCTA said in its report.
“This marks the first time both the trust and performance ratings of the VP have fallen below the majority threshold. Notably, these figures represent the lowest ratings for the Vice President recorded since December 2023 and reflect a continuing downward trend,” the research firm added.
Meanwhile, Senate President Francis Escudero obtained a trust rating of 63 percent.