MANILA – The National Unity Party on Thursday endorsed House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez as Speaker of the House of the Representatives for the incoming 19th Congress.

In a statement, NUP spokesperson Reginald Velasco said members of the party in the House arrived at this decision in recognition of Romualdez’ “exemplary service” as majority leader of the current Congress, as well as his “proven ability as a consensus builder” for the different political parties in the lower chamber.

Romualdez, president of the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), is a cousin of presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“In a consultation with the NUP members of the House of Representatives, it was unanimously agreed to endorse Rep. Romualdez as the Speaker for the coming Congress,” Velasco said.

NUP is one the political parties accredited by the Commission on Elections as a major national political party in the recently concluded elections.

Velasco noted that NUP is poised to be one of the largest political parties in the 19th Congress.

Romualdez, for his part, said the decision of whether he will be the next Speaker will mainly depend on the decision of the new set of members of the House in the 19th Congress.

Romualdez, however, said he will be honored to accept any endorsement.

“We leave it to the discretion and to the sound judgment of the members of the House of Representatives,” Romualdez said in a brief interview on Thursday.

The House majority leader was reelected for a second term as representative of Leyte’s 1st congressional district garnering 181,480 votes. He ran unopposed in this year’s elections.

He also represented Leyte’s first district for three straight three-year terms from 2007 to 2016, then returned to the seat for a fresh term in 2019, taking over from his wife, Yedda Marie Romualdez, who is now a representative of Tingog party-list. (PNA)