Speaker Martin Romualdez convened the inaugural meeting of the newly formed Visayas Caucus on Wednesday, bringing together all Visayan House members to forge a more unified and effective voice for the region in national policymaking.
The lawmakers representing Western, Central, Eastern Visayas and the Negros Island Region (NIR) affirmed their commitment to work together—across party lines—to uplift the lives of their constituents and ensure their priorities are reflected in the national agenda.
“This is more than a meeting of colleagues. It is a meeting of hearts united by the same roots, the same aspirations, and the same duty to serve our people,” said Romualdez, a native of Leyte, which belongs in the Eastern Visayas region.
“Each of us carries the hopes of our countrymen back home. The Visayas Caucus is our way of making sure their voices are heard and felt in the halls of Congress,” he added.
The House Speaker talked about the richness of the Visayas islands, not only in terms of natural resources, but also human resources—reflected in the hard work, intelligence, and strength of its people.
“It is about time the voice of Visayas is heard, not only in the plenary, but in every national decision,” Romualdez said.
The Visayas Caucus was established to provide a focused, non-partisan platform for regional advocacy.
While members belong to different national political parties, the Caucus is anchored on the belief that regional development must be championed collectively—through consensus, coordination, and shared leadership.
“We really want to focus and concentrate on what are the top priorities per region. And you having placed me here in this position to serve you as the Speaker, I would like to actually… sit down with you and get these priority projects, programs moving faster,” Romualdez explained.
The House Speaker emphasized that the Caucus will not operate as a political bloc, but rather as a mechanism to identify common concerns, push for responsive policies, and secure funding for vital projects that directly benefit the Visayas.
Among its key priorities are infrastructure development, water security and disaster resilience, agricultural modernization, healthcare and education access, tourism recovery, inter-island connectivity, and digital transformation.
“Our goal is simple,” Romualdez said. “We want a more resilient, more connected, and more empowered Visayas. This means building better roads and ports, bringing services closer to the islands, modernizing our farms, and making sure no Visayan is left behind in our nation’s progress.”
Romualdez serves as lead convenor of the caucus with the following lawmakers tasked as regional chairpersons: Deputy Speaker and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin (Western Visayas), Mandaue City Rep. Emmarie ‘Lolypop’ Ouano-Dizon (Central Visayas), Tingog Party-List Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez (Eastern Visayas), and Negros Occidental 4th District Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer (NIR).
“This is not politics—it is a stand for the region. In this Caucus, every island has a voice, every community has a representative, and every dream has an opportunity to come true,” Speaker Romualdez said.
