FACT CHECK: Romualdez not suspended from House of Representatives

Claim: House Speaker Martin Romualdez was suspended from office.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video bearing the claim, posted on June 25, has gained 18,894 views, 455 likes, and 82 comments.

The video’s thumbnail shows photos of Romualdez, Vice President Sara Duterte, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seemingly holding a document. Text on the thumbnail reads: “Pina-suspend si Martin (Martin was suspended).”

The bottom line: Romualdez remains a member of the lower chamber and is House Speaker of the current 19th Congress.

While the video’s thumbnail implies that Marcos ordered Romualdez’s suspension, the President cannot suspend a sitting House member. Article VI, Section 16, of the Constitution explains the process: “Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member. A penalty of suspension, when imposed, shall not exceed sixty days.”

Romualdez and Duterte ties: The misleading video didn’t provide any information to prove its claim. Instead, the narrator merely commented on Romualdez’s remarks on Duterte’s decision to resign from the Marcos Cabinet.

Asked to comment on the Vice President stepping down as education secretary, Romualdez said: “As the Vice President mentioned, I think this was her personal decision, and we respect the decision.”

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Romualdez served as Duterte’s campaign manager during the 2022 elections and both were then members of the political party Lakas-CMD. However, rumors of an alleged rift swirled during the 2023 budget hearings, when the House of Representatives stripped Duterte of her confidential funds for 2024. 

The Vice President’s political allies were also demoted from their senior roles in the lower chamber, and some lawmakers began supporting probes into the Dutertes, particularly resolutions urging government cooperation with the International Criminal Court’s investigation into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.

On June 24, Romualdez said he still wished Duterte well. “We only wish the vice president nothing but the best and we wish her always the best of luck in all endeavors and in her service to the Filipino people.” – Andrei Santos/Rappler.com

Andrei Santos is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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