Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez, Sr. (Tagalog pronunciation:[ˈgɔmɛsɾoˈmwɐldɛs], born November 14, 1963) is a Filipino businessman, lawyer, and politician who served as the 28th speaker of the House of Representatives from 2022 to 2025. He has also served as the representative for Leyte's first district since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2016. He was previously the House Majority Leader from 2019 to 2022. He is a first cousin of President Bongbong Marcos.
Born to the fourth generation of the Romualdez family, he graduated from Cornell University in the United States and pursued legal studies at the University of the Philippines College of Law, being admitted to the bar in 1993. Romualdez entered government in 2007 after being elected to the House of Representatives, being reelected in 2010 and 2013. Upon being term-limited as a representative in 2016, he sought a seat in the Senate and lost.
Romualdez was elected back to the lower chamber in 2019. During his second tenure, he managed the successful vice presidential campaign of Sara Duterte. He was elected as speaker in 2022. During his speakership, Romualdez played a key role in the Marcos–Duterte rift and pursued constitutional reforms that were marred by irregularities.
In 1992, Romualdez was appointed as concurrent trustee and president of the Doña Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical Foundation and Dr. Vicente Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation, both of which are owned by his family.[9]
In 1995, he started work as a director and legal counsel for the CARPA Realty Development Corporation. Prior to his political career, Romualdez served as chairman of the board for Equitable PCI Bank.[10] He also served as a chairman of Benguet Corporation.[11]
In April 2014, Romualdez expressed interest in running for senator in the 2016 elections.[12] He filed his certificate of candidacy for senator on October 13, 2015.[13] On November 7, 2015, Romualdez declared his support for presidential candidate Jejomar Binay.[14] In 2016 Davao City Mayor and presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte also endorsed the candidacy of Romualdez.[15] He ran under the Lakas–CMD party, which he is the national president of, but ultimately failed to win a senate seat, placing 15th.[16][13]
Romualdez authored House Bill No. 1039, which was enacted into law by President Benigno Aquino III as Republic Act No. 10754, or An act on expanding the benefits and privileges of people with disabilities.[20]
Romualdez was instrumental in the deepening rift between the Marcos and Duterte families.[30][31][32][33][34] Under Romualdez's watch, the House denied Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte's requests for confidential funds that could be used for the Education department's proposed Reserve Officers' Training Corps program[35] but swiftly passed the same funds for the Office of the President;[36] this led Sara's father and former President Rodrigo Duterte to allege a connivance between Romualdez and the leftist Makabayan bloc in stripping Sara of confidential funds.[35] Rodrigo Duterte criticized the House as the "most rotten institution" in the country[37] and demanded an audit of the House under Romualdez;[38] Duterte's comments offended some House members[39] including Romualdez,[40] prompting the House to issue a loyalty check resolution in support of Romualdez. Shortly after, the House expelled Duterte's political allies former president and Representatives Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Isidro Ungab as Deputy House Speakers for failing to sign the resolution.[41] Several House members of Duterte's party, PDP–Laban, later party-switched, mostly to the Romualdez-led Lakas-CMD,[42] In late November 2023, reports circulated that some House members want Vice President Sara impeached.[43] The House later began tackling at least three house resolutions filed separately by the Makabayan bloc, House Human Rights Panel chairperson Bienvenido Abante Jr. and 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, and Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman[44] urging the Marcos administration to cooperate with the International Criminal Court's investigation into Duterte's war on drugs; Romualdez denied prioritizing the measures.[45]
A month later, the National Telecommunications Commission imposed a 30-day suspension on SMNI, a media network which hosted Rodrigo Duterte's platform Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa, after the House adopted a resolution filed by PBA Partylist Representative Margarita Nograles, who claimed that the network was propagating false information.[46] Two hosts of another SMNI talk show, Laban Kasama ang Bayan, were detained and cited in contempt by the House after one of its hosts–Jeffrey Celiz–refused to reveal his source for his claim that Romualdez had ₱1.8 billion worth of travel funds.[47]
Amid the feud of the Marcos and Duterte clans in late April 2023, Romualdez said the House will probe into an agreement Duterte made during his presidency with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Under the agreement, Duterte agreed to maintain the "status quo" in the South China Sea to avoid escalating a war. Political analyst Ronald Llamas said the probe was engineered by President Bongbong Marcos as a "political payback" to Duterte's verbal attacks and to reduce Duterte's political influence ahead of the 2025 midterm elections.[48]
Efforts to amend the Constitution intensified in January 2024 after pro-Charter Change group, People's Initiative for Reform Modernization and Action (PIRMA), admitted talking with Romualdez and claimed responsibility for a signature drive campaign that attempted to start a People's Initiative.[49] The proponents proposed that both chambers of the Congress—the House of Representatives and the Senate—vote jointly on the proposed amendments in a constitutional assembly; consequentially, the 24-member Senate unanimously rejected the proposal since its vote would be overpowered by the 316-member House.[50] The signature drive has been marred by allegations of vote-buying,[51] and by evening of January 23, the proponents claimed to have achieved the required minimum 12 percent of national voters threshold.[52] Romualdez denied spearheading the initiative, although a video evidence showing the opposite was later disclosed by Senator Francis Escudero.[53] As of December 2023, Romualdez is the president of the Philippine Constitution Association.[54]
Controversy over flood control projects and resignation
Months leading up to the height of the flood control projects controversy in the Philippines in September 2025, media speculation arose regarding a possible leadership change in the lower house, especially after Sarah Discaya implicated Romualdez in the alleged anomalies.[55] By September 6, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin rebuked Congress under Romualdez's speakership, urging the speaker to "clean up your house first".[56] Romualdez, along with his ally and former appropriations chair Zaldy Co, has drawn criticism over alleged involvement in the 2025 General Appropriations Act, which opponents denounce as one of the most flawed and corrupt spending measures ever approved.[57]
On September 17, Romualdez formally resigned as speaker, a move Deputy Speaker Jay Khonghun described as one that aimed to allow Romualdez to better clarify his role in the allegations made against him. Leading up to Romualdez's resignation, media outlets reported that Bojie Dy was a leading candidate to replace the former as speaker.[58] Dy was eventually elected as House Speaker on the same day, garnering 253 votes.[59]
Romualdez married Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt, who represented the Philippines at Miss International 1996, in civil rites in Hong Kong in November 1999, with a church wedding following at Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati, on February 4, 2001.[61] They have four children and currently live in Tacloban and Makati. Their sons Ferdinand Martin Romualdez Jr., also known as Marty, and Andrew Julian Romualdez are also in politics, having been elected as a councilor of Tacloban and a representative of Tingog Party List in 2025, respectively.[62]
↑ Magsambol, Bonz (June 23, 2023). "Sara Duterte: Romualdez had no part in urging me to run for VP". Rappler. Manila, Philippines: Rappler Inc. Retrieved February 21, 2025. On Monday, June 5, Duterte deliberately skipped mentioning the President's middle name [Romualdez] as she acknowledged the Chief Executive during her speech[....] 'I won't mention your middle initial. You know that I love you,' Duterte said, without explaining her action.
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